In September 2023, China pledged at Africa’s first climate summit to launch an Africa Solar Belt program to promote 100 million yuan (about $14.1 million) for solar projects in areas not served by main electricity grids. of energy, which will help at least 50,000 families.
by Yi Xin
China-Africa cooperation can be characterized in many ways. Based on honesty, it aims for real results, promotes friendship and comes from good faith. If one were to use a color to highlight this partnership, green comes to mind.
At the first ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in 2000, ministers from China and Africa emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation in green energy development. Since then, it has remained an important part of China-Africa cooperation, with 10 cooperation plans, eight major initiatives and nine programs under FOCAC.
Located in northeastern Kenya, the Garissa Solar Power Plant is the first large-scale solar plant to harness the country’s vast solar resources and the largest grid-connected solar plant in East and Central Africa. Designed and built by a Chinese company in collaboration with Kenya’s Agricultural Energy Authority, the plant provides half of the solar energy produced in the country, powering 70,000 homes and offsetting about 43,000 tons of carbon emissions each year. The plant has been praised by former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta as one that puts Kenya on the path to achieving green energy sufficiency and adds to Kenya’s rich profile as the center of Africa’s green energy transition.
In Uganda, the Karuma hydroelectric plant built by China is the largest power generating facility in the country. It can reduce 3.48 million tons of carbon emissions annually, not to mention the $200 million-plus in revenue it generates for the government, which is close to 0.5 percent of the country’s current GDP. Together with the Isimba hydroelectric station also built by a Chinese company, it doubled Uganda’s total installed hydropower capacity from 764 megawatts to 1,552 megawatts, helping to realize the country’s goal of ensuring access to secure, affordable and sustainable energy for all .
In South Africa, the De Aar wind farm developed by a Chinese company has an installed capacity of 244.5 megawatts. Since opening in 2017, the project has provided 760 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually, meeting the demand of 300,000 households while reducing 619,900 tons of carbon emissions each year.
These projects are just some of the more than 100 green energy initiatives undertaken by China and Africa under FOCAC, many of which have become flagship projects fueling Africa’s socio-economic development and industrialization.
This partnership also supported Africa’s green transition. According to Brookings’ Foresight Africa report, by 2030, Africa will have 17 cities with more than 5 million inhabitants and 90 cities with at least 1 million inhabitants. The African Development Bank predicts that Africa can more than double its industrial GDP from $751 billion to $1.72 trillion over the next decade.
However, Africa is the most vulnerable continent to the negative effects of climate change, which may threaten to reverse its development gains and lead the continent to slide into even higher levels of extreme poverty.
It is therefore important for Africa to build more robust and resilient green power generation facilities to meet the increasing electricity demand from rapid urbanization and industrialization and reduce environmental pressures. And its cooperation with China, as evidenced by the numerous solar, wind, hydroelectric and thermal power plants operating across Africa, is instrumental in this process.
China-Africa cooperation on green energy is also helping to improve the welfare of the people in the region. In addition to the large-scale projects that power cities and regions, small but beautiful projects have been developed to meet the electricity needs of rural communities.
In September 2023, China pledged at Africa’s first climate summit to launch an Africa Solar Belt program to promote 100 million yuan (about $14.1 million) for solar projects in areas not served by mainstream electricity grids. energy, which will help at least 50,000 families.
On the sidelines of last year’s COP28, China announced the launch of the China-Africa Energy Innovation Accelerator program, under which China will work with Africa to explore and implement smaller-scale innovative technologies and solutions that better suit the diverse needs of African countries. their energy transition.
Actions speak louder than words. The two-pronged approach that combines large-scale electricity projects with small but beautiful people-centered programs has helped illuminate many African households and Africa’s path to sustainable development. In real and concrete terms, China has proven to be a reliable partner in the continent’s greener and bigger future.
Editor’s note: Yi Xin is an international affairs observer based in Beijing.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Xinhua News Agency.■