Anton Eberhard

Africa's Power Infrastructure : Investment, Integration, Efficiency

This study is a product of the Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD), a project designed to expand the worlds knowledge of physical infrastructure in Africa. The AICD provides a baseline against which future improvements in infrastructure services can be measured, making it possible to monitor the results achieved from donor support. It also offers a more solid empirical foundation for prioritizing investments and designing policy reforms in the infrastructure sectors in Africa. The book draws upon a number of background papers that were prepared by World Bank staff and consultants, under the auspices of the AICD. The main findings were synthesized in a flagship report titled Africas infrastructure: A time for transformation, published in November 2009. Meant for policy makers, that report necessarily focused on the high-level conclusions. It attracted widespread media coverage feeding directly into discussions at the 2009 African union commission heads of state summit on infrastructure.

An Analysis of Independent Power Projects in Africa: Understanding Development and Investment Outcomes

This study analyses the outcomes of African independent power projects (IPPs). Nearly 40 such projects have taken root to date, concentrated mainly in 8 countries. More balanced outcomes are perceived in North Africa than across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), for reasons linked to more attractive investment environments, more robust policy frameworks, fewer planning mishaps, abundant low-cost fuel and secure fuel contracts as well as credit enhancements such as sovereign guarantees. With few exceptions, these elements were absent in SSA, where the role of development finance institutions and the strategic management of projects seem more important. Copyright (c) The Authors 2008. Journal compilation (c) 2008 Overseas Development Institute..

Independent power projects in Sub-Saharan Africa : lessons from five key countries

The track record of Sub-Saharan Africa’s power sector is dismal. Two out of three households in Sub-Saharan Africa, close to 600 million people, have no electricity connection. The need for large investments in power generation capacity is obvious, especially in the face of robust economic growth on the continent, which has been the key driver of electricity demand over the last decade. The five case study countries, namely Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda were selected because they present the largest and most diversified experience with independent power projects (IPPs) over the longest time period. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the experience of IPPs in Sub-Saharan Africa and explore how they may be improved. Lessons from past experiences and a review of best practices from the region and from around the world can greatly help countries attract more and better IPPs. As African countries strive to anchor investments from traditional and nontraditional financiers over the long term, a better understanding of the emerging trends in the financial landscape will help them make informed choices and effectively leverage investments and financial assistance. The report is organized in two parts: part one presents power generation in Sub-Saharan Africa and part two presents five country case studies.

Energy consumption patterns and supply problems in underdeveloped areas in South Africa

Energy usage provides one striking example of processes and conditions of development and underdevelopment in South Africa and the concomitant inequalities in fulfilment of basic needs. Access to affordable and convenient fuels increases as households shift from underdeveloped rural and peri‐urban areas to the developed metropolitan centres. The form and quantity of fuels used by households is constrained by levels of urbanization, the availability and cost of fuels, and household income. The energy supply problems in developing areas centre on two critical and immediate issues. Firstly, in rural areas the demand for fuelwood is exceeding supply with quite devastating social, economic and environmental consequences. A fuelwood supply and demand model has been developed which indicates the urgency for implementing afforestation programmes, although lack of sufficient suitable land implies that other energy supply strategies will also have to be considered. The second major problem is that the standard, mos...

Energy, environment and the rural poor in South Africa

The lack of adequate energy services imposes heavy social and environmental costs on poor rural households. The rural energy‐environment interface, however, is prone to oversimplistic analyses, especially in the case of the ‘fuelwood problem’, and to a lack of research. International experience suggests that deforestation is not necessarily an ‘energy problem’ resulting from the cutting of trees for fuelwood ‐ and therefore that it may not have an energy solution, like planting more trees for firewood. Instead, wood scarcity must be understood under multiple use of wood resources, and policies need to be multifaceted if they are to succeed. South African studies show that wood is becoming increasingly scarce in many areas; here fuelwood collection may contribute to deforestation more than suggested by international experience. In addition to the environmental effects of increasing wood scarcity and its social costs, borne largely by women, another serious problem arises from indoor air pollution caused by...

Fuelwood Calorific Values in South Africa

SYNOPSIS The demand for fuelwood from natural woodland and forests is fast outstripping supply and the need for developing woodlots for increased fuelwood production is more urgent than ever. While some work is being done on the silvicultural aspects of promising fuelwood species, little information exists on the relative combustion characteristics of these species. The most commonly used parameter for comparing alternative fuels is calorific or heat value. This paper describes the methodology used to determine calorific values of solid fuels, and documents these for a wide variety of indigenous and exotic species. Other, possibly more useful, comparative measures of the combustibility of fuelwoods are also discussed.

Two of a Kind: Lessons from Tunisian Independent Power Projects

Abstract This paper narrates the experience of Tunisias two independent power projects (IPPs), which were developed as part of the countrys electricity supply industry reforms. Although both plants use gas as their primary energy, the two projects vary in size, fuel supply arrangements, power purchase agreements and the legal frameworks under which they were developed. With Rades II, the countrys first IPP, loans have been indexed to multiple currencies and, to date, charges to the utility remain affordable. This is partly due to the fact that the Tunisian dinar (TND) has been relatively stable since the inception of the contracts—unlike in other emerging economies where currency devaluations have resulted in significant increases in charges. With El Biban, the countrys second IPP, fuel supply problems have interrupted production for extended periods, impacting on overall plant performance and revenue. Although the loss in revenue is threatening the financial viability of the plant, it does not have a significant impact on the off-taker and national utility for the following reason. El Biban represents less than 1 per cent of the countrys installed capacity with no guaranteed availability in terms of its contract with the off-taker. Still the plant is crucial in understanding Tunisias overall experience as well as particularly relevant to other countries throughout Africa, such as Nigeria and Tanzania, which have developed power plants as part of a larger gas infrastructure project.

DENITRIFICATION OF A CONCENTRATED NITROGENOUS INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENT USING PACKED COLUMN AND FLUIDIZED BED REACTORS

Abstract Biological denitrification using packed column and fluidized bed reactors has been investigated on pilot plant scale. The reactors removed nitrate concentrations in excess of 1 000 mg l−1 of N as nitrate ion (NO−3-N) from wastewater at AECIs Modderfontein Factory in South Africa. The fluidized bed reactor denitrified ca 18 times the NO−3-N load removed by the packed column reactor, using molasses as carbon source. The two most important design parameters for denitrification columns were found to be temperature, which determines the nitrate removal rate per unit reactor volume, and linear velocity which is controlled by recycle rate, to provide the desired hydraulic conditions in the reactor.

Strategic renewal and the change of capabilities in utility firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze how strategic renewal affects the reconfiguration of capabilities. In the context of organizational change in a large utility firm, we examine the evolution of the capability structure, and explain the emergence and persistence of capability gaps.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses an inductive multiple case study methodology to compare four processes of capability reconfiguration at Eskom, South Africas electricity supplier.Findings – The results show that strategic renewal unfolds through different processes, which vary in their impact. Some processes have an immediate effect in closing capability gaps. The impact of others is with a significant time lag. Most critical, however, are processes that widen capability gaps. As a result, firms may face severe and persistent performance deficiencies.Research limitations/implications – Prior research has only marginally addressed the relationship between strategic renewal and capability reconfiguratio...

Moroccan independent power producers – African pioneers

This paper tells the story of Moroccos three independent power projects (IPPs), which were developed between 1994 and 2005. The three projects are very different in nature. Through the first project, the country placed nearly two-thirds of Moroccos electricity production in the hands of private producers, the Jorf Lasfar Energy Company – presently Africas largest IPP. The second project, Compagnie Eolienne de Detroit (CED), brought about further diversification of the electricity production mix by harnessing Moroccos wind energy potential; CED is also a record setter in that it represents the first wind farm in Africa that is entirely privately financed. Energie Electrique de Tahaddart (EET), the third IPP, served to introduce the first combined cycle gas plant to Morocco, which is fuelled from the pipeline that delivers Algerian gas to Spain. Another outstanding feature of EET is that the majority of project financing was sourced from local Moroccan banks. Among the key elements that explain project successes are that the Moroccan dirham has remained relatively stable in a low inflation environment since the inception of the contracts, and, in the case of EET, charges are significantly shielded from foreign currency risks.