CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2013
| Author | Gu, Bowen |
|---|---|
| Title | China's investment in Africa and the sustainable energy development of the continent |
| Summary | Achieving a sustainable energy future in Africa will require massive and unprecedented investments in energy infrastructure. This thesis aims to determine whether a significant part of this investment could come from China. The thesis analyses several scenarios of energy futures in Africa both in presence and in absence of energy access and climate mitigation policies. It also examines China’s current energy investments in Africa and their trends. The focus is on non-fossil electricity generation, where energy investment needs are largest and the situation with China’s investments is clearer than in other sectors. Most scenarios predict the level of investment in non-fossil electricity generation needed for achieving sustainable energy objectives growing from the present level under 10 bln USD/year to 20-30 bln USD/year by 2030. China’s current investment in this area of 1.4-3.5 bln USD/year may grow to 10-20 bln/USD year even under conservative projections of its growth rates. Thus, it is likely that China’s investment will make a notable contribution to achieving Africa’s sustainable energy goals. However, this will occur only if China’s investment is re-oriented from large-scale hydro power plants to smaller wind, solar and bio-energy facilities, if investments in generation capacity is supplemented by equally ambitious investments in transmission and generation capacities, if the geographic base of investment is broadened from the current resource-rich countries, and if private investment strategies are aligned with loans and aid programs. Modifications of regulatory frameworks and approaches on both China’s and Africa’s side may be required to meet these needs. |
| Supervisor | Cherp, Aleh |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2013/gu_bowen.pdf |
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