Somewhere in the world, a green energy revolution is occurring. New renewable energy projects hold the capacity to sustainably generate around half of a country’s electricity, vastly improving its citizens’ quality of life. Wind, thermal, and—maybe most importantly—hydropower serve are green alternatives to fossil fuels, that can greatly enhance a country’s industrial capacity and creating a realistic and maintainable trend of economic development.
So, who is this revolutionary innovator, leading the charge in green energy and sustainable development in a world still heavily reliant upon fossil fuels and antiquated patterns of development? Is it Germany, with its engineering expertise and (successful) political action of its Green Party? No. How about the United States, who has historically lead the world in engineering feats and is a developed country now expressing (some) political concern to environmental issues such as climate change and sustainable development? Nope. Well then, it must be China, whose massive hydro-electric dam projects have shown national initiative in creating sustainable sources of energy. Close, but still, no.
Ethiopia has invested over a billion dollars into its green energy plan—which includes solar, hydropower, geothermal, and wind-energy projects—in an effort to provide electricity to 47% of its nation still in the dark. Beyond providing sufficient electricity to citizens, Ethiopian authorities plan to sell electricity generated by renewable energy projects—funded primarily by Chinese, French, and Italian donors—to its neighbors, further generating economic revenue that could continually spur statewide, economic development.
Ethiopia’s green energy plan aims to expand its generating capacity—primarily from renewables—from 2,000 MW to 10,000 MW in three to five years. Nearly 6,000 MW of annual generating capacity is projected to come from the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile (currently under construction). The new, 210 million euro (289.68 USD) Ashegoda Wind Farm—constructed by French firm Vergnet SA and financially backed by French Development Agency—will contribute to the projected 800 MW/yr. of electricity generated from wind power. Furthermore, the Ethiopian government has signed a preliminary contract with a U.S.-Icelandic construction firm for a four billion dollar private sector investment targeting Ethiopia’s immense geothermal resources (which are, are maximum predicted capacity, able to produce 5,000 MW of electricity annually).
But just what are the political, economic, and environmental implications of such rapid and massive development? Does the development of a green electric industry imply that an entire nation will undergo sustainable development?
Well, in the case of hydropower, no.
While hydropower is a fantastic alternative source of electricity generation when compared to industrial age coal-fired power plants, and has the capacity to generate significantly more power than other renewable energy sources, it comes with an acute set of environmental, political, and social consequences.
Mega-dams have the potential to cause great environmental harm to the river ecosystem in which they are implanted. The implementation of most hydropower projects in developing countries is seldom determined by the outcomes of an EIS—given that one is even conducted—and thus the projects often become result in environmental degradation. Consider the Merowe Dam in Sudan, for which no EIS was conducted prior to construction. The dam (and its reservoir) acts as a major sediment sink, accelerates bank erosion rates downstream, limits fish habitats in producing anoxic water conditions, and disrupts aquatic biodiversity. Similarly, a mega-dam on the Omo River in Ethiopia has the potential to severely reduce water levels (~80%) and fish populations of Lake Turkana (located in Kenya). Clearly, with both of these cases, it is apparent that acute negative environmental externalities exist that challenge the notion the hydropower is a viable solution for environmentally sustainable development.
Mega-dams also have a tendency to exacerbate political and social tensions found within and shared between affected countries. The Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (which, as I mentioned earlier, is projected to generate ~6,000MW of electricity/yr. for Ethiopia) is being constructed in close proximity to the Sudanese border. This will undoubtedly aggravate political tensions over water-scarcity, as the dam will utilize large amounts of water that usually flows into Sudan (a downstream riparian). Ethiopian authorities are having to finance this project in the absence of international aid, which clearly indicates the political volatility and fragility of the project. Additionally, mega-dam projects are generally associated with the mass-displacement of large groups of people. The Three Gorges Dam in China is estimated to have displaced 1.2 million people; similarly, the Merowe Dam in Sudan has displaced over 50 thousand people from the fertile lands of the Nile valley to the arid desert. Here, we can see that the social injustices produced by mega-dam projects—along with a project’s capacity to negatively influence fragile political relationships—further assert that hydropower may not be a viable vehicle for achieving sustainable development.
The question surrounding hydropower and sustainable development is a difficult one, given that hydropower is—technically—a cleaner and greener method of generating electricity vital to spurring economic development. Needless to say, this topic will become increasingly contested in the coming decade, as traditional Western donors become more involved in implementation through heightened investment.
I agree that hydro-electric dams are incredibly problematic; and with rapidly changing weather patterns, many areas across the globe are seeing their rainfall shifting in unpredictable ways, resulting in devastating droughts and floods. Due to these changes, I don’t think that hydro is not the best renewable energy option out there. Rather, I think solar power holds the greatest potential.
Solar power is particularly promising because solar panels can be installed on already existing structures, eliminating the need to find space to build a solar plant. Furthermore, solar panels can be installed in places that lack energy infrastructure, eliminating the need for large coordinated power grids. The biggest drawbacks to solar right now are the cost of solar panels and the issue of storing energy so it can be used at night, when the sun is not shining. As production increases in scale and solar technologies are refined to be more efficient, the costs will come down, allowing solar power to be a more affordable, renewable energy source. (Here’s a really cool example of a more efficient solar panel being developed by IBM: http://www.fastcoexist.com/3027129/these-massive-mirrored-dishes-could-make-solar-cheaper-for-all.) To address the issue of energy storage, more research is definitely needed, however new and exciting breakthroughs are already being made that have the potential to greatly increase the viability of solar as a 24/7 energy source (e.g. http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/solar-wind/3-clever-new-ways-to-store-solar-energy-16407404 and https://www.hcn.org/issues/46.5/go-west-clean-megawatts).
I agree with lim9; solar power could be a positive viable option, and is beginning to happen through Obama’s “Power Africa” plan. They even are shifting some of the production to Ethiopia to diminish some of the problems associated with having outside firms doing the project: fewer local jobs etc.
Are the hydropower plants creating local jobs and will this increased use of solar power plants create more local jobs? The hydropower plants are creating jobs for local Ethiopians, according to a business week study (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-10-03/ethiopian-hydropower-dam-assessment-warns-of-structural-weakness). The specialists that are checking the integrity of the dams and its effects on downstream countries and other factors are all from Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, which is a positive boost, but what about the unskilled work? Are those workers foreigners coming with the foreign company or do these projects help to abate unemployment.
Also, it could be interesting to concentrate on the government system in Ethiopia. Does their parliamentary system make it easier to create projects like these? Considering the American government is coming in and doing projects like the solar panels, is the strength of their government a factor? Could be interesting things to add at the beginning of the post!
This post brought up two very interesting issues. First, I think that there is an interesting global trend in regards to developing nations and changing energy infrastructure. I think that the Ethiopia’s commitment to developing renewable resources is incredibly admirable as there are more proven and reliable sources of energy derived from fossil fuels that may be more affordable. Although they may be focused on hydroelectric power I think it would be hypocritical of the United States to comment on their efforts to lessen their environmental impact despite the detrimental effects of hydro electric power production. At the same time I believe that it would be foolish to overlook the consequences of other forms of renewable energy production. For example wind turbines can kill and interfere with migratory bird patterns, as well as ruining the aesthetics of once undeveloped landscapes. Solar panels, although seemingly clean and green, carry an environmental cost during production as metals used to manufacture semiconductors are toxic and have detrimental effects on the environment as well. I think that we should be applauding the Ethiopians on their effort to implement hydroelectric energy.
Secondly I this post raises an interesting issue concerning energy development in the developing world. Will there be traditional energy source development in places like Ethiopia including the extraction of coal and building of coal burning power plants, or will these nations immediately transition to more renewable sources? There is no answer to this question, but I believe that if developing nations are able to make the change there is no reason that the developed world cannot.
This is a very interesting post that really allows us to have a peek on energy industry and renewable energy development in regions that people would not often think of. Ethiopia has really been taking firm steps in expanding its green energy portfolio. OECD countries and nations like China should really rethink about the arguing sharing the responsibility reducing carbon emission and instead invest their energy and efforts to promote more sustainable development mode.
In regard of the discussion of relative merit of different source of renewable energy, it would be unfair to simply claim one type of energy is better than another. Hydroelectricity, although seems to be the most problematic among the three major types, does enjoy the benefit of stable output and high capacity generation. On the other hand, as JBB46 has mentioned, wind and solar also have their unique drawbacks. Therefore, I believe that the integrated and diverse energy supply is the go to solution. This is also what the nation has been doing according to this article. In order the properly evaluate the development of renewable energy at specific sites. Project based EIS should be conducted thoroughly to understand the benefits as well as the problems of specific renewable energy program and create the combination with both high development potential and low environmental impact.