Post #96

SPP and HPP: Africa needs more electricity According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), last year the total capacity of renewable energy sources on the African continent reached 66.8 gigawatts (GW). This figure sets a new record, because ten years ago the installed capacity was 34.7 GW. Africa's needs for electricity are growing rapidly. This is due not only to the need to modernize existing power grids and household demands, but also to the growing needs for production capacities. Active industrialization, production development, emergence of new special economic zones that stimulate investment in the manufacturing and processing industries - all this requires stable electricity to ensure high-quality production cycles. For this reason, the African continent will remain one of the leaders in the growth of commissioned energy facilities in the future. Solar energy plays a significant role here, because solar power plants are cheaper than the same hydroelectric power plants and are much faster in terms of construction time. At the same time, they can be installed to power individual remote objects. For example, to process minerals, often extracted in areas quite remote from the rest of the infrastructure. It follows that it is more economically feasible to install solar power plants at such sites. In turn, the huge number of hydroelectric power plants on the continent can be explained by the fact that despite high capital investments, the electricity generated is practically free. That is, further costs are minimal compared to many other types of power plants and require minimal maintenance. However, they also have a limited safe service life, and most of the hydroelectric power plants in Africa, built in the 60s and 70s of the last century either by Soviet engineers or the French, now require serious modernization, and in some cases, complete reconstruction. #AREA#Russia#Africa#energy