Does Africa need wind energy?

Wind energy has the potential to electrify the continent and to power economic growth and development. However, scaling up wind energy on the African continent faces numerous obstacles, hindering its rapid uptake. Africa currently generates 81% of its power from thermal sources, with only 1% coming from wind .

Which countries have the most wind power in Africa?

Wind capacity in Africa has risen steadily over the past 20 years, with four of the past five years seeing almost 1 GW of additional capacity. The traditional strongholds of South Africa, Egypt and Morocco have been joined by Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania, among others, as every region bar Central Africa capitalises on the benefits of wind power.

What is Africa's wind energy capacity?

Africa’ cumulative wind energy capacity stood at 5464 MW by 2018 . In South Africa, wind energy constitutes the most significant investment in the RES by more than 50%, under the 2010 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). The country plans to procure 6360 MW of power from wind by 2030 .

What is the current status of wind energy in Africa?

This paper presented the current status of wind energy on the African continent, analysing barriers such as the technical, economic, market, social, institutional and regulatory barriers. The analysis discovered that wind energy in Africa had grown rapidly from 0.74 GW in 2009 to 5.5 GW in 2018.

Why is wind energy a problem in Africa?

Because wind energy is a variable resource, it has to be managed to balance the system to avoid power curtailment. However, the grid system in Africa is constrained to take on wind energy when the system is oversupplied without any storage solution for the excess energy supplied or when demand cannot meet supply.

How does wind contribute to Africa's energy supply?

Wind has contributed to the growth of installed capacity and available energy to African grids that have capacity and energy constraints. The Lake Turkana wind farm contributes 17% of Kenya’s installed capacity while the Taiba N’diaye wind farm increased Senegal’s installed capacity by 15%.