According to international energy agency, around 580 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lacked access to electricity in 2019, three-quarters of the global total. In addition, renewable energy is expected to contribute 22% of Africa’s total energy consumption by 2030.
The statistics suggest that there is an urgent need to accelerate the growth of renewable energy across the region to ensure sufficient, affordable, reliable energy supply for individuals, businesses, and communities. Huawei is at the forefront of addressing those issues, as it demonstrated at a virtual digital power event today.
Commenting on Africa’s renewable energy supply, Huang Su, Director of Huawei Southern Africa Digital Power Business said, “There is still a massive gap to be bridged. However, the traditional energy infrastructure operation mode cannot meet the new challenges brought by the latest development in the digital world. Digital and intelligent technologies can be of great help to ensure we provide sufficient electricity to every African household and business.”
As Huang points out, renewable energy is much cheaper than fossil-fuel-based options, with a kilowatt-hour of solar power costs less than a Rand in South Africa.
In order to achieve this, Huawei is committed to introducing digital power solutions driven by digital technologies.
“The essence of digital power is integrating cloud, AI, and other digital technologies with power generation, storage and consumption. We are ready and willing to provide our full support for building a green Africa and bridging the energy gap,” Huang says.
Huawei’s smart PV solution has been deployed in more than 60 countries and regions and has generated more than 300 billion kWH of green electricity, powering millions of residents and hundreds of industries globally. Huang said, Huawei will continue to innovate and enable renewable energy to empower each individual, home, and organization.
“Over time, Huawei will deploy more and more scalable power stations. These power stations can be managed and maintained online, further reducing their carbon footprint,” Huang concluded.