WHY IS THE AFRICAN REGION ( IN PARTICULAR SOUTH AFRICA ) SO I MPORTANT TO WORLEYPARSONS ?
IN TERMS OF CLEAN ENERGY , HOW IS THIS TAKING OFF IN THE AFRICAN REGION COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE WORLD ?
WHY IS THE AFRICAN REGION ( IN PARTICULAR SOUTH AFRICA ) SO I MPORTANT TO WORLEYPARSONS ?
Africa is complex . It has diverse cultures , difficult logistics , extreme environments , and in places , both uncertain business practices and security , which all make for more complex projects and increased risk .
Africa is also a continent blessed with natural resources . Oil and gas , gold , copper , coal , diamonds , cobalt , platinum , some of which are the top resource quantities in the world . Africa has enormous resource wealth , and WorleyParsons has the expertise to develop and extract such , doing so in a manner which protects not only the interests of the investors , but the communities and societies in which the resource exists .
From a new energy resource perspective , Africa has both everything and not much at all . I can remember flying from Johannesburg to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia for the first time in 2012 and watching with the eye of a renewable energy engineer the obviously huge hydro and solar energy potential of that portion of the continent – only to arrive in a country desperate for electricity . The opportunity to develop enormous quantities of clean energy is palpable in Africa but dealing with energy poverty must be an overriding objective regardless of what energy source is used .
IN TERMS OF CLEAN ENERGY , HOW IS THIS TAKING OFF IN THE AFRICAN REGION COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE WORLD ?
In certain parts of Africa , the clean energy sector is growing – in others it is not , despite abundant clean energy resources . Most countries in Africa simply need energy , particularly electricity , and this makes the issue different to say Europe where universal access to electricity exists . In Europe , the debate is more around how to decarbonise electricity and the business implications around this – while in Africa it is more on how to get it cheaply , how to overcome project risk , and how to finance the capital required .
So , it is not that sensible to compare and the reality is that Africa will grow with a portfolio of energy options – coal and gas will likely be substantial contributors well into the future , and even nuclear may have an entry point . But , there are moves to drive clean options as a priority with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 for
access to affordable , reliable , sustainable
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