Rising Currents: How Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam Is Shaping Africa’s Energy Landscape
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), perched on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region, is a monumental feat of hydropower engineering designed to harness the abundant monsoonal precipitation of the Ethiopian Highlands. Envisioned to produce nearly 6,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity annually, GERD promises to revolutionise Ethiopia’s energy infrastructure, propelling industrialisation and electrification on a massive scale. The project’s vast reservoir has ignited intense debate among downstream states, particularly Sudan and Egypt, where anxieties over water allocation and agrarian sustenance loom large.
Reactive Power Compensation in East African Power Systems: Technical Innovations and Grid Stability Solutions
East Africa’s power sector is rapidly expanding, with increasing reliance on renewable energy sources and growing regional electricity trade. The region’s transmission infrastructure is expanding to allow for robust power trade and eventually, to achieve the Africa Single Electricity Market (AfSEM), so managing reactive power becomes crucial.
Carbonds: Demystifying Carbon Credit Markets
A decade ago, anthropogenic climate change was a highly controversial topic, with many governments and corporations – particularly in the oil and gas sector – actively denying its existence or downplaying its significance. As scientific consensus solidified, and extreme weather events intensified, outright denial declined, and global initiatives became increasingly focused on climate solutions.
Meeting East Africa’s Resource Needs: The Relationship Between Self-Reliant Infrastructure and Wide-Scale Grid Operations
Of East Africa’s energy-related challenges, widespread lack of access to electricity is a strong contender for most pressing. While notable progress has been made, it only takes the perusal of IEA data, or better yet, research done by JEPA Africa to get an accurate picture of the dire situation.
Buying Restored Time: Un-Jamming Kenya's Traffic Gridlock
Time is undeniably the most valuable asset a person can possess. We dedicate our lives to maximising its use, often caught in the paradox of striving to create more time while inevitably watching it slip away. One of the greatest consumers of time is traffic congestion. Nairobi, ranks among the most congested cities in the world with daily commutes averaging over 1 hour.
East Africa’s Road to Nuclear Energy: A Feasibility Study Assessing Infrastructure and Policy Pathways
Nuclear fission, a process that was accidentally discovered to release energy in 1938, now drives nuclear power plants that account for 11% of the world’s electricity generation. Nuclear energy is recognised as a key towards carbon neutrality, endorsed by more than 20 countries and the agreed upon declaration to triple nuclear energy by 2050.
Powering Progress: The Potential for Cross-Border Energy Trade in East Africa
East African nations continue to strive for better economic performance and increased citizen well-being, endeavouring to address major socioeconomic challenges that have gripped the region for decades. While improvements have been made, with Kenya, Mozambique and Rwanda all experiencing gains on the human well-being index since 2000, systemic shortcomings hinder technological advancement and impede quality of life.
Flirting with Tropical Urbanism: Green Building Design for Tropical Climate in East Africa
Each year, East Africa's urban population grows by 20 million people, a demographic surge that demands a rethinking of the region’s urban infrastructure. With new urban construction expected to double by 2050, East Africa has an opportunity to pioneer green building designs that blend historical climate-responsive methods with environmentally conscious principles.
Green Guardians: How Agroforestry is Transforming East Africa's Carbon Footprint
According to the IPCC, average global temperatures have risen by 1.1°C over the past century and a half, spurring adverse effects across the globe. Rising sea levels, heatwaves, heavy precipitation, droughts, and tropical cyclones leave up to 3.6 billion people living in highly vulnerable climate contexts. These vulnerabilities are amplified for low-income individuals, who constitute 42% of East Africa’s population.
