Desertec - another major solar energy project loosing its shine

Desertec - a green pipe dream soon to be deserted.

Another major solar energy project is going down the drain:

As recently as three years ago, many thought that it was only a matter of time before solar thermal plants in North Africa supplied a significant portion of Europe's energy needs. But Desertec has hit a road block. Industrial backers are jumping ship, political will is tepid and a key pilot project has suddenly stalled.

Supporters hailed the Desertec Industrial Initiative as the most ambitious solar energy project ever when it was founded in 2009. Major industrial backers pledged active involvement, politicians saw a win-win proposition and environmentalists fawned over Europe's green energy future. For a projected budget of €400 billion ($560 billion), the venture was to pipe clean solar power from the Sahara Desert through a Mediterranean super-grid to energy-hungry European countries.

Today, a scant three years later, there is still little to show for the project but the ambition.

The list of recent setbacks in daunting. The project has failed to break ground on a single power plant. Spain recently balked at signing a declaration of intent to connect high-voltage lines between Morocco and the rest of Europe. In recent weeks, two of the biggest industrial supporters at the founding of the initiative, Siemens and Bosch, backed out. And perhaps most tellingly, though last week's third annual Desertec conference was held in Berlin's Foreign Ministry, not a single German cabinet minister bothered to attend.

The reasons for the impending failure are clear:

Renewable energy projects remain more expensive than traditional fossil fuel plants and tend to require government subsidies.

-

"The rarest resource in Europe is money," said Michael Kauch, a German parliamentarian who is the environmental spokesman of the business friendly Free Democratic Party. "It's even rarer than energy or rare earth minerals."

The same story everywhere: Solar and wind energy projects, which totally rely on government subsidies, are failing abysmally. There is more than enough of clean and inexpensive shale oil and gas  for the foreseeable future. Why waste taxpayers' money on expensive and completely unrealistic "renewable" energy projects. 

"Creative" warmist scientists finally find a way to show that global warming increases violent conflicts

"Global warming leads to wars and increasing violence" has been one the warmists' favorite propaganda claims already for years. The problem, though, is that this claim is not supported by serious studies. 

This is e.g. what Nils Petter Gleditsch, Centre for the Study of Civil War, PRIO & Norwegian University of Science and Technology, says in the summary of a recent study, "Whither the weather? Climate change and conflict", published in the Journal for Peace Research:

Overall, the research reported here offers only limited support for viewing climate change as an important influence on armed conflict. However, framing the climate issue as a security problem could possibly influence the perceptions of the actors and contribute to a self-fulfilling prophecy.

However, now six creative scientists from the University of Colorado and the National Center for Atmospheric Research have finally found a way to get the results warmists have been longing for:

A study relating climate to conflict in East African nations finds that increased rainfall dampens conflict while unusually hot periods can cause a flare-up, reinforcing the theory that climate change will cause increased scarcity in the region. The study was published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

How have the six warmist authors been able to succeed where others have failed? 
The answer is: By using a new database, in which the criteria for violence have been "relaxed" in order to get the results that suited their needs:


Compared with other datasets with high battle
death thresholds, such as Correlates of War (threshold of 1,000
battle deaths/y) (3) or the Uppsala Conflict Data Program and
Peace Research Institute Oslo (UCDP/PRIO; threshold of 25
battle deaths/y), the criteria for including violence in the ACLED
data are relaxed (4). The number of deaths or amount of property
damage associated with violence was not recorded in ACLED
because of unreliable data reporting in news outlets. Furthermore,
setting a fixed death threshold often does not make sense, because
conflict emerging in the face of ecological stress might include
small-scale skirmishes resulting in few deaths or injuries. The
Correlates of War and UCDP/PRIO data record conflict only
where it takes place between the government of an internationally
recognized state and a cohesive rebel group. For our purposes, we
identify and code violence that is not perpetrated by organized
rebels or government forces; conflict often takes place between
two nonstate actors, such as communal groups.

(I would not be surprised if family quarrels are included in the new dataset)

But even with the manipulated criteria, not everything went according to the wishes of the creative scientists:

Nevertheless, the researchers stressed that the contribution of climate is minor compared with other economic, political and social factors, which also went in to their models and explained conflict far better than changes in precipitation or weather.

Read the entire article here

Sensational study: Global warming turning Africa´s savannahs into green forests

This barren savannah could soon be a green forest

Great news for Africa: Forget all the tree planting, global warming will turn the continent´s barren savannahs into green forests, according to a new German study, published in the journal Nature: 


New research from researchers based at two German research institutes predicts that large parts of Africa's savannahs may well be forests by the time the year 2100 comes round. 

Writing in the journal Nature, Steven Higgins from the Goethe University Frankfurt and Simon Scheiter from the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F) in Frankfurt suggest that fertilisation by atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is leading to major increases in tree cover throughout Africa. 

Grasses and trees differ fundamentally in their response to temperature, CO2 supply and fire, and continually struggle for dominance in savannahs. 

Previously, these shifts in dominance have taken place over long periods of time, but the current wave of atmospheric changes has sped up rates of change. Once a critical threshold of CO2 concentration is exceeded, savannahs become less grassy and more forest-like. However, each savannah has its own critical threshold which means that each savannah will make the switch at different times. This helps reduce the risk of a simultaneous and dramatic change emanating from the savannahs.  


PS
The new findings should of course apply to other savannah type areas in the world as well, which makes a warmer future all the more welcome! 

Climate change: The European Union´s efforts in Africa are beginning to bear fruit

Global warming/climate change, the centerpiece of the European Union´s foreign policy in Africa is finally beginning to bear fruit. The efforts of  visiting EU leaders and the vast network of EU embassies in Africa have not been in vain: African politicians have learned to hide their own mistakes by blaming their own failures on global warming, created by the "rich" industrialized countries. Here is one recent example: 


“While Africa is not the major contributor to environmental problems, it has nevertheless suffered most from the impacts of climate change, and this has severely affected our efforts towards increasing agricultural productivity,” the Speaker of Parliament Kadaga Rebecca told participants from several African Parliaments.

It is of course true that yield levels of many food commodities produced in Africa are below international averages. Here are some of the real reasons for the backwardness, which the "participants from several African Parliaments" chose not to discuss:  

– lack of knowledge of up-to-date technologies and practices,
– low use of improved seed,
– low use of fertiliser,
– inadequate irrigation and
– lack of incentives for farmers in the absence of remunerative markets.
In many places, these sector-specific problems are compounded by overarching issues, including
– political instability and violent conflict,
– weak institutions of governance and ineffective policies or
rural people’s poor health.  

And the European teachings are not applicable only to economic activities. Now even a fourth of all deaths in Africa seem to be caused by global warming (of western origin):

About twenty three percent of the deaths recorded in Africa are linked to environmental factors according to statistics recorded by African Parliamentarians meeting in Kampala. 

Al Gore - Once again proven wrong

Al Gore - Once again proven wrong

Flashback: 


"Solar and wind energy projects like DESERTEC show that we have the technologies. We just have to start acting!" "This is not pie in the sky – this can be done. We [the USA] need to do it for our own economy."

Al Gore (May 2010)


Reality check:

"There was no surprise when German engineering group Siemens, one of the key promoters of the Desertec solar initiative in North Africa, admitted that the plan is “not yet competitive”. Pressed to say when this ambitious scheme might see the light of day, Berndt Utz, the project’s head, could only promise “certainly by the end of the century”.

As a result, many delegates seemed sceptical that intercontinental electricity distribution, such as that from Africa to Europe planned for Desertec, will see the light of day."

PS

Fortunately Al Gore is not more in a position to make any important policy decisions. Otherwise the US would be in even bigger economic trouble. 

(image by wikipedia)

Scientists in Tanzania: Do not blame every environmental disaster on climate change

Usually when politicians and environmental scientists get together in Africa, you can be certain of at least one thing: Having been brainwashed educated by American or European "experts", the participants of these gatherings will always produce a document, statement or at least interviews blaming global warming/climate change for almost anything environmentally bad that has happened - or will happen - in their respective countries.

That´s why it is refreshing to read about what local scientists said at a recent "climate change adaptation workshop" in Kigoma, Tanzania:

Scientists meeting here have expressed concern over what they saw as the government’s tendency to blame every environmental disaster on climate change.This was a sentiment expressed by local scientists attending a western Tanzania climate change adaptation workshop on Wednesday. 
--
Mr Godlove Mwamsojo, an environmental expert with the Lake Tanganyika Integrated Regional Development Programme, disagreed, for instance,  that the 100-year two-kilometre wall in Pangani District in Tanga Region was succumbing to the effects of climate change on account of the fact that the level of the Indian Ocean waters has been rising fast in recent years, eating away the wall away and flushing water onto the streets.
“This wall was built by German colonialists over 100 years ago. For how long do we want this wall to last? What kind of material was used to build it?” queried Mr Mwamsojo, calling on the government to avail more funding for the wall’s preservation.

He was reacting to a presentation by an environmental officer with the Vice President’s Office, Eng Alphonce Bikulamchi, who told the workshop that rising seawater caused by climate change has eroded parts of the wall, paving the way for sea water to flow inland and destroy nearby houses.


“We are overplaying theories. We lack scientific proof,” said the environmental expert (Godlove Mwamsojo).

Eng Bikulamchi also told the two-day workshop, jointly organised by The Nature Conservancy, the Jane Goodall Institute and the Frankfurt Zoological Society, to raise awareness on climate change and its impacts throughout western Tanzania, that Lake Victoria water level has dropped by about 2.57 metres between 1965 and 2006 due to climate change.

This observation was also disputed by Dr Ismael Kimirei, acting centre director for the Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (Tafiri) in Kigoma Region, who said that the drop in water levels in Lake Victoria might have been caused by an over use of water in Uganda.Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest freshwater body shared by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, is the source of the Nile.


In addition, Eng Bikulamchi told the workshop that the Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, is losing its snow fast, noting that 80 per cent of its glacier has vanished since 1912 because of climate change.
Again this observation was strongly objected by Dr Hudson Nkotagu, the Lake Tanganyika Integrated Regional Development Programme national coordinator, who said that volcanic activities might have been the reason behind the decrease of the glacier.

The reaction of an American participant in the workshop, was not surprising. She felt a need to "correct" the "heretics" who had dared to question the teachings of the global warming religion:

Reacting to these observations by the local scientists, Dr Elizabeth Gray, Global Climate Change Fellow with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a US charitable environmental organisation that seeks to preserve lands, said such environmental calamities might have been caused by other factors, but climate change was magnifying the current situations.


Read the entire article here

Kudos to the local environmental scientists in western Tanzania!

Over 1,3 billion people to "celebrate" Earth Hour on March 29

Hundreds of activists are now busy planning the 2012 Earth Hour, "the largest environmental event in history". According to the official Earth Hour website "more than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour 2011 alone, sending a powerful message for action on climate change".

But we already know that the 2012 Earth Hour, on March 29, is going to be an even bigger success, with over 1,3 billion people "celebrating" worldwide, particularly in Africa:

“Some 1.3 billion people worldwide have no access to electricity – and 45 per cent of those live in Africa".

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General

PS

In spite of the expected high "attendance", the WWF´s African activists are working hard in order to emulate last year´s success stories, like this one:

Kenya first took part in Earth Hour in 2009 and is organised by WWF. The highlight in 2011 was a high-level cocktail reception ..

Are U.S. taxpayers funding research which helps African dictators to stay in power?

Are U.S. taxpayers funding research that will help African dictators cling to power?

That should, of course, not be the case, but take a look at what the Strauss Center Program on Climate Change and African Political Stability (funded by the U.S. Department of Defense´s Minerva Initiative) says in its Policy Brief NO 3:

In poor, fragile states—like many of those in Africa—

climate shocks and swift-onset meteorological hazards

can pose severe threats to domestic security by

compromising a state’s monopoly of force within its

borders. In the absence of effective humanitarian relief,
the destruction of infrastructure and interruption of
services can trigger such desperation that the populace
resorts to stealing or rioting to secure necessities. These
risks to state control are compounded if citizens exploit
the absence of a security presence to loot for personal
gain. Moreover, disasters may provide focal points
around which government opponents may rally.

Extreme weather events also represent important security
concerns for external actors, with militaries frequently
deployed to provide humanitarian relief. This diversion
of military resources represents an opportunity cost by
preventing troops and equipment from being deployed
for other purposes.

Link to the Policy Brief on this page.

With that kind of research funding, maybe it is not so surprising that the Minerva Initiative website has this to say:

Funding outlook for Minerva: While the Fiscal Year 2012 appropriations bill cut $7M of Minerva funding intended to go toward new research from the recent BAA, the Minerva program staff remains optimistic that some proposals can still be funded and continues to investigate other ways to bring in support. All funding decisions from the 2011 competition will be announced in Spring 2012.

The BBC reruns Jonathan Dimbleby´s uncritical "An African Journey"

The BBC is currently rerunning Jonathan Dimbleby´s  "An African Journey". The three part series  shows Dimbleby uncritically praising "not a continent of beggars but of industrious people".  Barely a word about dictatorship, corruption or crime in Dimbleby´s fawning presentation.

Just one example:

At a party celebrating the Year of the Tiger, he learns how China's billion dollar deals have rebooted African economies, once dependent on Western aid and investment.

Dimbleby does not interview people like the South African professor and economist James Blignaut, who know that China’s African safari has a flip side:

China´s biggest interest in Africa is in her natural resources and not in her people. Oil from Sudan, Nigeria, Angola and Gabon and minerals from South Africa and Zimbabwe, timber and agriculture products from everywhere, to name but a few. China’s sudden interest in Africa is therefore not only in oil-rich countries, but rather in all forms of raw materials. In return for natural resources, Africa is offering China a lucrative offset market for her cheap manufactured products. These products, such as textiles, are replacing domestic industries.
In essence, Africa is exporting her mineral wealth to act as fuel and much needed materials for the Chinese expansion, while importing manufactured products that outcompete with domestic alternatives, leaving Africa’s trade balance with China in a deficit! This is not altogether a new phenomenon – it has happened over a many decades in Africa’s trade with North America and Europe, the only difference now is that Africa imported technologically advanced products from the West she did not produce herself whereas Chinese products do replace local products and undermine local industries and companies.
--
Judging from the past, China is ultimately likely to begin to use its significant economic power for political ends. In other words, using political and economic
ties and contracts, it could pressurise African countries to support China’s political agenda - as it has done and continues to do to isolate Taiwan.
Coming now to the downright ugly side of the Chinese-Africa trade boom is China’s dubious human rights and environmental legacy, a legacy that is likely to blow over to Africa as China’s involvement in Africa increases. China’s close association with Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, for example, is a testimony of China’s seeming indifference to human rights abuses.

Neither does Dimbleby interview somebody like Raymond Hu, writing in Princeton´s American Foreign Policy:

Dissatisfaction with China’s close ties to corrupt African authorities also extends to other countries in an international context. Because China grants aid packages with “no strings attached”, oppressive dictatorial regimes have been able to subvert and survive Western efforts to initiate political reform. While Western nations have attempted to pass a UN arms embargo on the Sudanese government to stop the genocide in Darfur, China has sold $24 million worth of arms and $57 million worth of vehicles and equipment to Sudan. In Zimbabwe, Western sanctions to bring about reform were likewise undermined by China’s support to President Robert Mugabe’s regime in the form of $200 million worth of military vehicles and equipment.

Moral argument aside, the long-term political consequences of current Chinese investment practices in Africa will also be adverse. Already, signs of malcontent indicate that China needs to change its ways if it is to sustain its investment interests in Africa. In 2006, an opposition presidential candidate in Zambia ran his campaign on the idea of “Zambia for Zambians,” a platform in favor of expelling Chinese influence from the country. The disconnect between the official Chinese government rhetoric of “win-win” agreements and local realities will only entrench and perpetuate distrust of the Chinese. It will not take long for the common public to see through the veiled Chinese rhetoric of win-win situations that belies its real quest for natural resources and political control. China’s support of these rogue governments will inevitably harm its reputation on the global stage, reduce its credibility in international affairs, and degrade relations with its neighbors.

PS

Dimbleby´s uncritical approach is very typical for the BBC´s present Africa coverage in general. For some reason the BBC reporters also often treat Africans almost like children. One wonders why?

Mary Robinson: Western "rich lifestyles" to blame for global warming and poverty in Africa

Former Irish president Mary Robinson has for a long time been a star performer among the do-gooders who jet around the globe in order to give speeches at various "progressive" gatherings.

Last week Robinson, who is also chairing an organisation, modestly called "The Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice" -  was in Washington D.C. "to discuss issues of climate change, population and sustainability at a forum hosted by the Aspen Institute".

This was Mrs. Robinson´s message in D.C.:

I had been working in the small organization 'Realizing Rights' and was traveling to different African countries on issues of public health, women, peace and security. I kept hearing, how [people's] lives are so much worse now because of the change in seasons, the dramatic flooding, the long periods of drought.

It was my realization that this was a human rights issue, because these were communities that were not climate resilient. They didn't have insurance and they were already poor, so they had been undermined in their poverty by the impact of global warming, which is the result of the greenhouse gas emissions from the rich lifestyles elsewhere in the world.

Read the entire article here

Robinson peddles the same message - although in her case wrapped in bogus human rights terminology - as all the other highly paid international bureaucrats and scaremongers - from Ban Ki-moon to R. Pachauri: People in the "rich" western countries are to blame for the poverty and everything else - including purported human caused "climate change" - that is bad in the "developing" countries.

And Mrs. Robinson´s solution to the problem is also the same:

 "To achieve climate stabilisation will necessitate radical changes in lifestyle and behaviour"
(quote from the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice page)

Maybe it would be better if Mrs. Robinson would do a little less travelling and start listening to Africans who really know what it takes to lift poor countries out of poverty.

(image by wikipedia)

"Apps4Africa Climate Challenge" - Courtesy of American taxpayers

The warmists at US State Department seem to think that Africans - particularly young Africans - have not shown enough interest in global warming/climate change recently. That´s now going to change: The State Department is the main sponsor of a new climate missionary project, "Apps4Africa Climate Challenge":

“This is a fantastic time for engagement on climate issues,” said Mariéme Jamme during a webcast on the Apps4Africa Climate Challenge.
Apps4Africa is a competition that is collecting ideas on ways to use mobile technology to help Africa cope with global warming. There are three regional competitions throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and nine winners will receive cash prizes for suggesting innovative, practical applications for mobile phones, computers or the Web.
Jamme coordinates the Apps4Africa competition for West/Central Africa, one of the three competitions taking place in late 2011 and early 2012. She spoke during a November 3 webcast sponsored by the U.S. State Department, along with State Department Science and Technology Fellow Jeffrey Fox.

By participating in Apps4Africa, “everyone can have their say on climate change issues across Africa,” she said.
“The ultimate goal is to make sure that African people are engaged” in addressing their own climate change issues, Jamme said. “We have been listening to the West quite a lot. I think it’s time for Africans to start taking ownership of the climate change issues we have on our own continent.”
She pointed out that, for the first time, Africa is hosting the annual United Nations climate change conference, which is set for November 28–December 9 in Durban, South Africa. “We cannot go to Durban without having African people deciding on climate change issues,” Jamme said. “I will be happy if someone says, ‘I did participate in Apps4Africa, I had my say, and now I’m not feeling left out.’”

She said Apps4Africa wants young people to become engaged in climate change issues, with help from mobile technology. “We need to decode what climate change means for them,” she said. “Young people say, ‘I’m getting all this information about climate change, but what can I do?’”
“Mobile applications, online, Facebook, Twitter, the radio — all those can help young people understand,” she said.

In each of the three regional Apps4Africa competitions, first-place winners will be awarded $15,000, second place $7,000, and third place $3,000. They may also receive support from Apps4Africa partners, such as help with business plan development, advice or investment.

Read the entire State Department article here

What could be more trendy than to "engage" young Africans by offering them "cash prices for suggesting innovative, practical applications for mobile phones" to help Africa "cope with global warming", people at the State Department seem to think. But in these times of austerity measures at home, the majority of American taxpayers probably would not like to see their money wasted on useless projects like "Apps4Africa".

The negative effects of development aid

It is encouraging to note that more and more economists and other experts in the developing countries have began to question the prevailing politically correct western aid ideology. One such voice of sanity -regrettably anonymous -  comes from Sierra Leone. His - or hers - wise thoughts about the negative effects of the dependence on aid are published on the allAfrica.com webpage:

I think aid has made my country, by and large, poorer and the prospect of economic growth dismal. This man-made "humanitarian disaster" has left Sierra Leone with a huge debt burden and a poorly managed economy. It has increased poverty and corruption, created an inflationary prone market and discouraged foreign investments. But we have a choice to change course and find responsible ways to better manage our debt and economy. Otherwise, we will always see our promising young men and women languishing in the corners of our streets with no job or income to support their families.
Furthermore, the size of our international debt and the risk level has made investors less attracted to finding good market in Sierra Leone. And why do we have a huge percentage of our national budget largely coming from the Department for International Development (DFID) in the United Kingdom (UK), the European Union (EU), China, Japan and the United States of America? Why do we seem to believe that investors can bring their capital investments when they know we cannot even account for our own money let alone the "aid dollars" they give us?
---
Frankly, Sierra Leone must take the long road that leads to a donor-free economy with an investment strategy that establishes job creation, access to capital markets and surplus foreign reserves. Our nation must participate in the China "new African initiatives" of large scale investment in infrastructure. We must increase free trade with the European Union (EU), Japan and the United States in agricultural products (not only mineral resources).
---
But we are seriously a long way from reducing our dependency on aid and the culture of debt that has paralyzed the economic spine of our government. We need some strong leadership to take us out of the depressive state of our donor addictions. We need a debt management strategy with comprehensive national debt laws that will help to bring our spiraling debt under control.
As the Zambian Economist, Dambisa Mayo categorically said: "Aid has been and continues to be an unmitigated political, economic and humanitarian disaster for most part of the developing world" and for Sierra Leone, it is time to end that dependency which has fostered too much corruption, discouraged economic creativity that leads to innovation and prosperity for all.

Read the entire article here


However, these sensible thoughts are not shared by the representatives of the world's biggest development aid donor, the European Union. The EU´s development commissioner, former Latvian politician Andris Piebalgs e.g. is mainly focusing on the amount of money poured into the developing countries - often easily finding its way to the coffers of less than democratic regimes.

Here is a recent example of  the commissioner´s thinking:

But this is no reason for complacency and I stressed in April that aid budgets must be increased if we are to meet our ambitious goals for 2015 and remain credible. I still believe that despite the temporary set backs we will reach the target on time. It’s really in everybody’s interest to invest in developing countries and help them to get on the right track of inclusive growth and development.
--
Our commitment is also noticeable if you look at the numbers. EU aid to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) increased by 78 % from €8.3 billion in 2000 to €15 billion in 2010. The share of Gross National Income (GNI) spent on aid to LDCs rose from 0.09% in 2000 to 0.13% in 2010. The EU is still by far the largest donor to the LDCs (56 % of aid worldwide in 2010). The share of Commission-managed EU aid to the LDCs rose from 21.6 % in 2000 to 29.9 % in 2009.

Read the whole piece here

South African energy CEO: "Coal is best, cheapest option"

There seems to be a continuing flow of catastrophic climate change news from Africa ahead of the cop 17 conference to be held in Durban in November. At a recent World Economic Forum Africa conference in Cape Town, South Africa´s president Jacob Zume added his voice to the alarmist cause:

"As a global community, we have no alternative but to respond to the challenges of climate change. They are real, they are life and death. We cannot hesitate, we cannot wait, we need to act now," Zuma said.

Although Zuma and other alarmists got most of the publicity at the conference, it is worth noting that there were at least three moderate and realistic voices:

This is what Brian Dames, CEO of the state-owned power utility company Eskom had to say:

Coal is best, cheapest option says Eskom boss

SA will continue to use coal to generate electricity because this is still the cheapest and quickest option.

Dames said while the price of renewable energy was coming down, Eskom was continuing to build its two coal-fired plants (at Kusile and Medupi) as that was the easiest and most efficient way to deal with energy security.
"Out of 54 countries in Africa only 15 have a power capacity of more than 500MW," Dames said.

"We have a massive energy issue on the continent. It is truly a dark continent."

But he said the government's integrated resource plan (IRP) has a clear view that SA would draw a line on coal investments after Eskom's Kusile power station was completed and then invest in cleaner energy.
"Hence nuclear power then needs to play a role in meeting our energy needs," Dames said.

While Zuma was propagating the alarmist line, the country´s energy minister, Dipuo Peters also had a surprisingly realistic view of its energy future:

She said the IRP, which sets out power-generating plans for the next 20 years, still includes a large percentage of coal-generated power.
"We need to do that with the understanding that we need to mitigate climate change," she said.
"We are working with other (African) governments on research on clean technology for coal-fired power generation. This (coal) is what we know at present and how we can ensure security of supply."

And this from Eskom´s chairman:

Eskom's chairman, Mpho Makwana, who was also one of the co-chairs of this year's WEF on Africa, said only 30% of Africa's one billion people had access to electricity.
"It is impossible to improve education and health systems on the continent without power," said Makwana.

Read the entire article here

PS
Although almost all African political leaders are screaming for climate change aid in order to "save" their continent, it is interesting to note, that there are among the energy decision makers also people with balanced and realistic views, like e.g. the three mentioned above. How refreshing it is to listen to an energy company CEO, who does not feel the need to sugar coat his message with the usual politically correct "green" phrases (as American and European CEOs nowadays usually do).

And Mr. Dames´s company is no small actor in Africa. Here are some facts about Eskom:

• has 24 power stations with a nominal capacity of 39 872 megawatts
• is among the top five utilities in the world in terms of size and sales
• is presently one of the lowest-cost producers of electricity in the world
• supplies 95% of the country's electricity requirements, which equals more than half of the electricity generated on the African continent