20th Oct 2015 11:22
LONDON (Alliance News) - The UK government Tuesday announced plans to launch a campaign aimed at assisting Africa improve its access to energy and electricity with a focus on renewable, off-grid power.
The campaign, which will be officially launched on Thursday, will be a boost to some London-listed companies including Camco Clean Energy PLC, which is developing technology that fits with the UK government's Energy Africa campaign.
The UK government, through the Department for International Development, is hoping to achieve "universal energy access" in the continent by 2030 with the hope it will alleviate poverty, bring down the cost of energy, and spur more broad economic growth in the region.
"Two out of three people living in Africa do not have electricity in their homes. If we continue on the current trajectory, it will take until 2080 for there to be universal electricity access on the continent. Another generation of young people will miss the opportunity to help themselves out of poverty through the transformation that access to electricity in the home can bring," said the government.
"A reliable electricity supply is one of the most powerful tools for lifting people out of poverty and ending dependency on aid," it added.
Energy is a huge problem across Africa, despite being rich in oil and gas resources. Over 600.0 million people in sub-Saharan Africa have no access to electricity, representing 70% of the population whilst around half of all businesses in the region view the lack of electricity access as a "major constraint" to doing business, according to the UK government.
Sub-Saharan Africa refers to the nations that lie below the Sahara desert, comprised of over 20 nations including South Africa, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Kenya.
The problem is so wide spread that sub-Saharan Africa loses around 1.0% to 2.0% of its gross domestic product per year because of it. The lack of access also means that some pay up to 80 times more for their electricity compared to UK households.
The goals of the Energy Africa campaign is to give the continent access to "affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy" by 2030.
One of the key problems with providing continent-wide access is the fact it does not have a traditional grid system like those found in Europe and other more developed regions of the world, leaving millions of people isolated.
"Reaching the more than 600 million people with no electricity in Africa with traditional grid systems will be a lengthy effort. Vast rural areas will have no realistic chance of being connected for decades," said the government.
The key energy source the UK government wants to harness for Africa is solar power, focused on off-grid systems. It believes the "time is right" for the campaign because prices of solar panels are falling, battery technology (which is required for off-grid systems) is improving, appliances are becoming more efficient and because the spread of mobile payment systems will allow even the poorest to gain access through "pay-as-you-go" systems.
"Together with African governments, investors, businesses, non-governmental organisations, think tanks and other donors, the Department for International Development will work to increase investment in off-grid energy firms, overcome regulatory barriers, foster innovation, and accelerate delivery of solar energy systems to households across Africa," said the UK government.
The news is likely to be welcomed by Camco Clean Energy, a London-listed stock that is developing the REDT battery system, a environmentally friendly Vanadium Redox flow battery which can be used for a number of applications, including increasing the reliability of renewable energy or for off grid energy solutions.
The idea is that the REDT battery could be placed in remote areas and hooked up to renewable energy sources such as solar panels or wind turbines, storing energy in the day to be used at night or whenever it is needed by households or businesses.
Only last week Camco increased its stake in the company that owns the REDT technology to 97.0%, and it has previously indicated this will rise to 100.0% in the near future as the battery is the company's main focus.
Currently, the REDT battery is being manufactured by major-manufacturer Jabil Circuit Inc. Camco currently has a small number of REDT systems being tested with customers, and by the end of 2015 it should have around 12 systems in place under testing conditions.
The systems are currently deployed across different geographies and applications, including one at an African hotel that is not connected to a grid. Some of the other systems are being tested with solar panels and wind farms in the UK.
Commercial sales and the official launch of the system is expected to occur in 2016.
Camco also runs a consultancy business in 23 countries across Africa, focused solely on renewable energy using funds from Green Africa Power, or the GAP fund, which promotes the development of renewable power generation in Africa using GBP95.0 million of funding provided by the UK government.
Camco secured all of that GBP95.0 million back in July 2014 after fighting off another 50 companies, giving it a strong foothold in the continent.
Spokespeople for Camco were not immediately available for comment.
Camco shares were up 6.7% to 6.0 pence per share on Tuesday afternoon.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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