Wind Inflates Africa’s Sails

By Liesl Venter

In Africa, a continent with enormous energy needs, wind turbines are a rare sight. While several African countries have built sizeable wind industries in the past decade, the installed capacities in 2020 only stood at about 6.5 gigawatts, or GW.

Not much, considering the size of the continent, but this is about to change, according to Duncan Bonnett, a partner at Johannesburg-based research and consulting company Africa House. “The potential for renewable energy on the continent is enormous. It is possibly the greatest good news story this decade. We are going to see a lot of activity in the next few years.”

A report from the International Finance Corp. estimates that just onshore, the wind energy potential could satisfy the entire continent’s electricity demand 250 times over.

According to Bonnett, who tracks projects across Africa, anything from three to five new projects, on average, are being identified per day in the renewable sector. “And we are not even scratching the surface as yet,” he said. “Africa’s extensive coastlines have substantial wind power production potential for both small- and utility-scale turbines. Several projects, completed successfully, have proven what can be done, and the interest in renewable energy is at an all-time high.”

He said projects, such as Kenya’s Lake Turkana that produces 310 megawatts, or MW, of reliable, low-cost energy, the Tarfaya Wind Farm in Morocco with its 131 turbines in the Saharan Desert and the Ras Ghareb wind farm near the Gulf of Suez, are all hugely successful. “There is also Adama I and II in Ethiopia, Taiba N’Diaye in Senegal, and Khobab and Loeriesfontein in South Africa. The activity and interest in renewable energy exists across the continent and is not concentrated in any one particular region.”


Meeting Energy Needs

Africa’s energy need is well documented. According to the African Development Bank, 640 million Africans have no access to energy, corresponding to an electricity access rate for African countries at just over 40 percent, the lowest in the world. “Africa’s energy potential, especially renewable energy, is enormous, yet only a fraction of it is being currently employed. Hydropower provides around one-fifth of current capacity, but not even a 10th of its total potential is being utilized,” reads a bank report on African energy needs.

Bonnett said they are monitoring more than 500 projects at present, and while many of these are fairly small, they do include some big investments as well. “There is an acceleration taking place when it comes to renewable projects. According to our analysis, project announcements for the first two-and-a-half months of this year have equaled the entire project basket announced in 2021. Projects from 1 to 100 MW from Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria, to Zimbabwe, Kenya and Tanzania are being announced or taking off. Few countries are not looking at the opportunity.”

In South Africa, the government recently awarded 25 contracts for renewable energy projects worth a total of US$3.3 billion, to reduce the country’s heavy dependence on coal. These 25 projects – 12 wind farms and 13 photovoltaic plants – will breathe some life into a breakbulk sector that has been under pressure thanks to the outbreak of the global Covid-19 pandemic.


Cautious Optimism Remains

Paul Okpurughre, director of business development and operations (MEA) at SAL Heavy Lift, said the possibilities for renewable energy in Africa are tremendous. A rapidly growing population and a steep increase in urbanization call for higher demand for power. But, he noted, many projects – wind, hydro or solar – are being slowed by a lack of grid infrastructure development, either due to political, financial or geographical challenges.
Bonnett added that, while the interest is there, when actual cargo movements will start is “anyone’s guess.”

According to Howie Frylinck, strategic business and project management specialist at Pentagon Freight Services, the scope for breakbulk in the wind and hydro sectors is massive, but projects have yet to take off. “There seems to be a lot of projects in the planning stage, but we are not seeing any real movement on the ground as yet.

“When it does take off, it is going to be a very competitive arena and come down to those operators that have real experience and knowledge of the African landscape, who can deal with the robustness, the challenges and the high risk.”

Okpurughre added that it is on the liquefied natural gas side that SAL is seeing a continuous number of projects taking place. “We might even come to see more now due to the gas delivery issues being experienced in Europe right now. Ghana, Mozambique, Angola and Nigeria are all areas with great prospects in this regard, and we do support several of them.” And while project delays are also anticipated in this sector due to political instability, Okpurughre said the gas business could grow substantially on the export side.

Kevin Hutton, general manager of the Beira Logistics Terminal, agreed, saying oil and gas project cargoes make for stable volumes on the continent, still far outweighing that of the renewable sector. This, however, does not mean that renewables is not an exciting industry to watch and hopes are high for more business from this sector in the next few years. “Africa’s growing population needs energy. The projects to deliver this energy will come and we are very upbeat about the prospects for project cargo. But at the moment there is no real clarity as to when these projects will really start to take off.”


Challenging Environment

Delivering renewable energy projects in Africa is not easy, requiring real tenacity from project owners and their logistics service providers, according to Chris Morris, general manager of Specialized Transport, a company based in Beira, Mozambique. “The projects are going up in remote and far-out areas. While the equipment to move these massive pieces of cargo is available locally and the ports are increasingly able to receive breakbulk vessels, the convoys have to travel long distances, covering thousands of kilometers across several countries with different jurisdictions, regulations and policies.” Africa, he added, can be a scary place for operators that have not worked here before.

While solar projects have some breakbulk components, for the most part, it is easier to containerize that cargo and the real opportunity lies in wind energy, he added. But not everyone can move a wind turbine from a port to a remote location 2,500 kilometers away with limited infrastructure in place. “If these projects do take off, they will require careful planning,” he said.

The reality, said Franco Bornmann, director at Abnormal Solutions, is that Africa is a high-risk environment. “The locations are remote, often thousands of kilometers from the port. The ability to detour is very limited and if something goes wrong with project cargo, there is no quick fix or solution around the corner. If a truck breaks down, it can take weeks to get a part to it and the cargo is just standing in the middle of nowhere until that happens.”

If Africa is to build the projects it is planning, especially wind farms, ports must be the first point of focus going forward. While many ports have the equipment needed to load and off-load cargo, turbines need a lot of laydown space.

“That has been one of the biggest challenges we have had to overcome with current and past projects,” Bornmann said. “Ground-bearing capacities are going to have to be increased and massive pieces of land will have to be cleared in and around ports to accommodate the project cargo. This will have to take place in already congested environments.”

Road infrastructure is just as limited and few bridges can handle heavy loads, especially in the more remote and far-flung regions.


Policy Mismatch Across Borders

A lack of harmonization of policy and regulation across countries is another major issue, Frylinck said. Sometimes several permits are required to accommodate the different provinces or counties in a single country. “This is not even taking into account the requirements of different countries.”

Border posts are also often major obstacles due to the long delays experienced, while cargo in some jurisdictions is not allowed to move without being escorted by local law enforcement.

“The logistics requires careful planning because there is literally zero room for error. An increased number of projects will put the current capacity under real pressure,” Bormann noted. Both he and Frylinck also share reservations about equipment capacity. While the big players around the world can import the increased number of trucks and trailers required, along with any other equipment needed to handle more volumes, this in itself will be a huge undertaking.

“For one turbine you might need 10 transport combinations,” Bornmann said. “If you are having to deliver three a week you will need 30 vehicles, but if you are travelling 2,500 kilometers from port to final destination and considering the lack of laydown facilities at ports you are going to need at least 50 combinations or you will never make it. It also takes days to get back to ports with empties to reload.”

To successfully deliver to timelines and keep cargo moving far more equipment will be required, especially for the mega projects being planned.

While there is limited concern for the capabilities and drive to rise to the challenge, there are worries around cost. “Anything can be done, but it also has a number attached to it. These projects are not going to be cheap simply due to the operating environment,” Bornmann said.

Frylinck expected that this will call for more involvement from international companies, rather than African operators. “If one just looks at the clearing of this cargo alone, it is clear to see the forwarding and logistics will be handled by the big multinationals more than anyone else. Few local clearing agents can pay VAT of R20 million or R30 million which is the requirement for a big project.”

Hennie Muller of Evergreen Solutions predicted that new players would come to the fore to service the burgeoning market. “Delivering four projects a year in Southern Africa – where the infrastructure is relatively good compared to other parts of the continent – has been a struggle at times. If we are talking about increased project activity, new players will have to enter the market. There is no other way.”


Port Calls Needed

More port calls of breakbulk vessels will also be required, Frylinck said, noting that at present there is not enough service to deliver the number of turbines and other cargo required if projects are to increase.

SAL’s Okpurughre said there is already a steady growth of port calls in Africa happening, particularly in West Africa. “We also see some development of intra-Africa trade. In the past, we had to leave African destinations empty, but now we see some export cargo as well.”

This is an important development, Frylinck said, as the need to increase exports out of the continent was especially necessary as it allowed for improved costs when it comes to the maintenance of renewable energy infrastructure.

But while the challenges to deliver projects are real, the overall developments on the continent are positive, Bonnett said. “Governments are understanding the need to change regulatory environments to increase power delivery to growing populations. We are seeing cooperation on a regional level like never before.”

In an unprecedented move, the African Continental Free Trade Area, that entered into force in May 2019, saw 41 of the 54 signatories deposit their instruments of ratification in record time.

“If we look at the logistics sector in Africa, we are seeing a huge amount of investment into the expansion and upgrade of ports in all the regions. Infrastructure investment to move cargo more efficiently is ongoing not only as Africa gears up to trade more with itself but as it realizes its dream of exporting more,” Bonnet said.

As the demand for power generation continues, especially as a result of growing urbanization in Africa, renewable energy across the continent will remain in the spotlight.


Liesl Venter is a transportation journalist based in South Africa.

Image credit: Shutterstock