Africa is relying on power ships due to underinvestment in energy infrastructure

More than a quarter of the countries within the continent of Africa could soon be utilizing floating power plants for their energy. While these power ships have been billed as a “cleaner” solution than other fossil fuel energy sources, critics have called them a temporary solution for a much larger issue born from decades of underinvestment in energy infrastructure.

“Instead of renting out foreign-run power ships, which will ultimately leave us in 20 years’ time, we could be investing in infrastructure that would provide jobs,” said Thandile Chinyavanhu, a climate and energy campaigner with Greenpeace Africa. “[African governments] do not foresee rectifying this crisis for the next 20 years and are applying a short-term solution to a long-term problem, all the while creating environmental, economic and social damage along the way.”

A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development found that sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest access to electricity in the world, with around half a billion people lacking this vital resource.

More Africans lived without power last year than they did in 2019, at an increased rate of about one in 25 people according to data from the International Energy Agency. Currently, around 43% of people living on the continent are unable to access electricity.

“As commodity prices soar and leaders around the world worry about energy shortages and prices of gasoline at the pump, millions of people in Africa still lack access to electricity,” said Riccardo Puliti, regional vice president at the International Finance Corporation. “One-half of the people on the continent cannot turn on a fan when temperatures go up, can’t keep food cool, or simply turn the lights on. This energy access crisis must be addressed urgently.”

Though power ships have provided a measure of relief to this problem by supplying energy to some of Africa’s most impoverished cities, this has become a pricey solution. The World Bank has characterized the electricity derived from these ships as “costly” and power analysts have estimated that what they generate is 2.5 to 4 times more expensive than other energy sources.

“The use of power ships can’t be a long term solution,” said Fola Fagbule, deputy director and head of financial advisory services at Africa Finance Corporation, a leading provider of private sector-led infrastructure investment solutions in the region. “A long-term solution would have a price that declines over time because more competitive sources of power are being introduced into the grid.”

Costs got so high for countries like Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau, that when government authorities could not pay for their energy, the power ships shut off supply to the two nations’ capitals. The decision left hospitals, businesses and homes without power until the countries made payments on their outstanding bills, which totaled about $55 million combined.

“Just in terms of the financial implications, we believe that [power ships] will be too expensive,” said Neville van Rooy, community outreach coordinator at the Green Connection. “What is happening in Sierra Leone is just another example illustrating why this is another bad energy idea.”

Officials have warned these types of power outages may continue if African leaders keep employing these methods that treat supplying electricity like a constant emergency. However, due to limited alternatives, the usage of power ships appears set for continued growth throughout the continent.

“[Power ships] are a necessary evil because of chronic underinvestment in energy infrastructure,” said Bright Simmons, research lead at Imani Centre for Policy in Ghana.

Only 2% of global investments in renewable energy over the last two decades were made in Africa. Meanwhile, despite the fact that Africa is home to almost a fifth of the world’s population, due to insufficient energy infrastructure, the continent is responsible for just 4% of global electricity consumption.

Essentially, a number of African nations have backed themselves into a corner, where spending money to wait on the development of new and cheaper energy sources is not an option because of immediate demands. That means these ships will likely remain a major part of Africa’s power grid for the foreseeable future.

“Power ships are not the answer,” said Vuyani Maqanda, lecturer at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa. “The flaws of electricity procurement from these floating power plants outweigh the benefits.”