Blessing in disguise: Hydropower in Africa
Beza Assefa
Gibson School System, Ethiopia
bezaassefa2019@gmail.com
Abstract-- Poverty is a huge barrier to access clean
water, energy and food in Africa. Despite, nations in
Africa being rich in water bodies more than 700 million
individuals in Africa don’t have access to water that is
suitable for drinking. Governments are trying to find
various mechanisms to resolve these problems; but up
to now, studies have shown hydropower is the foremost
reliable way to solve the problems that Africa is
confronting. The main function of hydro powers is to
produce electricity. Concurrently, it can also help in the
water and food sector. But these multiple benefits of
hydropower does not come without its cost. The impact
it has on wildlife and natural vegetation is adverse. The
considerable sum of money that is required should not
be overlooked. This is where the water, energy and food
nexus comes to play. Recognizing the interconnection
between these three can help us accomplish the UN’s
sustainable development goals by 2050.
KEYWORDS—Energy, Food, Hydropower, Sustainable
Development, Water
I. INTRODUCTION
The united nation aims to improve the lives of
developing countries via reducing problems related to
water, food and energy, through its sustainable
development goals. The UN has aimed to make these
three requisites available for all people by 2050.
Furthermore, the nexus between these three necessities
is important as it will help in poverty reduction,
manage natural resources, and achieve other
environmental goals. Most of all the nexus is
important because it will help achieve sustainable
developments in a short period.[7] Water energy and
food are interconnected and the scarcity of one of these
demands will further prolong the year by which Africa
will reach its sustainable development target.
Africa is a continent with a bundle of intact natural
resources. If Africa strives for proper use of its
Gibson School Systems
resources, some of the problems related to basic needs
where its people are short of can be solved. To this
end, the continent is focusing on the development of
its ample resources in areas of hydropower.
There are various problems that Africa faces; of
which the majority of them are related to water, energy
and food. To address issues related to water, energy
and food in the continent, various projects are under
development. Solar energy, geothermal energy, wind
energy, etc. are the major ones along with food and
road-related projects. Nonetheless, of all the projects
that are being developed, hydropower development is
the one that is capable to address the link between
these three factors. Hydropower dams have multiple
purposes, apart from the key function of producing
energy, which has several advantages. The dam is used
as a water reservoir and helps countries to get
sustainable water sources and it’s also helpful in flood
sources. It also fosters irrigation, creates opportunities
for the fishery, recreational areas and plays its role in
the reduction of poverty and betterment of women life.
In developing countries, most of its nation lives in
rural areas where electricity is scarce. Studies have
shown especially women in rural areas suffer a lot as
almost all of the burden of the household is loaded on
women. As a result, it will be hard to secure water,
energy and food for their families. They are obliged to
collect firewoods for cooking to feed their family. On
the other hand, the smoke harms their health and their
young ones too. On top of that, they have to travel long
distances to fetch water for the family and collect
firewoods for income purposes. Therefore, the
construction of hydro plants secures fresh and
sustainable water from the reservoirs, food through
irrigation and energy by converting energies, women
in rural areas will benefit the most. [12]
Accordingly, as the continent recognizes the
benefits of the hydropower plants, the International
Water power & Dam Construction (IWP&DC)
magazine indicated that various dams are under
construction, among which dams in Sierra Leone,
Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Kenya, Namibia,
 Lesotho, and Burundi are funded by African
Development Bank. Thus far, the largest hydroelectric
power plant in Africa as well as the seventh-largest in
the world with a planned capacity of 6.45 Gigawatts
dam in the continent is also under construction in
Ethiopia which is funded by its citizens. [8] In addition,
10 countries found in the Nile basin also has
established the Nile Basin Initiative to cooperate on
how well the countries manage and utilize the water
sources they are sharing. [13]

Therefore, African countries should give their most

attention to developing hydro powers to address the
difficulties related to water, energy and food. Focusing
on developing the continent’s blessings of hydropower
through the construction of dams is the best way to
achieve the development goals of the UN.
Figure 2: The Bumbuna Hydro II project in Sierra Leone

II. Merits of Hydro powers in Africa

Worldwide, hydropower is the most widely used
renewable energy resource due to its significant
advantages over other renewable resources: high energy
density, low cost and reliability in particular. And its
carbon emissions — over the entire lifecycle of
construction, operation and decommissioning — are
often far lower than those from all other renewable
sources, including wind and solar. Hydropower plants
are available from very small sizes of only a few
kilowatts (KW) to multi- Gigawatts (GW). [6]

Africa has installed a hydropower capacity of over 37

Figure 1: Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
Giga Watts (GW) and the highest untapped potential
across the world. So far, it has only utilized around 11%
of its capacity till 2020 with 906 megawatts (MW). [3]- [11]
This shows that the continent is required to exert more
effort and give its utmost attention to utilize its full
potential where nature has blessed it. Recently, several
new hydropower projects and upgrades are being
developed across Africa. These developments are
expected to increase its energy potential, unlock greater
access to electricity and contribute to the development
goals. [11]

In Africa, hydropower is responsible for 84% of all

non-fossil fuel energy usage. [1] Sustainable energy is the
focus of national development plans across the continent.
According to the international Hydropower association
report in 2020, out of the 53 African nationally determined
 contributions under the Paris Agreement on climate
change, 45 contain quantified renewable energy targets.
The program for infrastructure development in Africa
interconnects Africa’s vast renewable energy potential and
identifies a need for high capacity transmission networks.
These efforts are aligned with the Program for
Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), a continent-
wide initiative that intends to harness Africa’s vast
renewable energy potential and identifies a need for high-
capacity transmission networks. [9] Further to the
production of energy hydropower create vast opportunities
which benefit Africa in other development areas.
The piped water supply for the urban and rural population
greatly depends on the continent’s rivers. Therefore,
countries rich in lakes and rivers have many opportunities
for building hydro powers. Hydropower developments can
in addition help us conserve and reserve the scarce resource
of water and help to ensure the sustainable water supply of
a country by storing some of the water as a reservoir.
A. Reservoirs
A reservoir can be a large natural or artificial
assemblage of water for future use. They are especially
useful when the water level in lakes and rivers may be low
in drought or protracted dry periods. A reservoir can help
control the water flow and further manage wasted water. It
can also provide fresh water for irrigation and aid in food
control as it establishes an aquatic environment.
When people are in short of electricity water can be
pumped up to higher reservoir from lower reservoir to
generate more electricity. So that the water will fall again
causing the turbine to rotate. This will produce electricity.
The process of pumping water to the higher reservoir and
vice versa can also happen if the water is in the higher
reservoir and no water is in the lower reservoir, which
causes a shortage of water.
Figure 3: How reservoir works when
electricity is low
B. Irrigation and Environmental prospect
Developing hydropower is very beneficial to equip
water for farming. It can provide fresh water, increase
food supply, and helps to secure sustainable food
production as it facilitates irrigation. Irrigation is a
supply of water used in farmland when water is scarce
to help plants and crops grow. The water can be
transported by various mechanisms from the dam to
the farmlands. Pumps and sprays can be used to
transport water from water bodies to the farmlands.
Irrigation can distribute water uniformly throughout
the farmland and also in areas where rainfall is not
reliable.
It also helps to control the water flow and further
manage the wasted resources of water. In general,
various studies have shown that building hydroelectric
power is the answer to the current problems which are
shortage of clean water, energy, and food.
Hydroelectric power plants don’t release pollutants or
toxic by-products like carbon dioxide into the air.
Consequently, reducing ozone layer depletion, acid
rain, smog, etc. Developments of hydro plants of small
or large size fit the concept of renewable energy. [15]
C. Electricity
The prime job of hydropower is to generate
electricity. Electricity is a fundamental unit in life
since the majority of the things done involve the usage
of electricity. Nowadays as the population is growing
the electricity demand is also increasing rapidly.
According to Africa’s energy future, in sub-Saharan
Africa, the primary energy demand will increase from
27,000 TWh in 2015 to around 60,000 TWh in 2050.
[2]
In nature, all streams and rivers flow downhill. Before
the water flows down a hill, it already has potential
energy in it because, of its height. Then as the water
gets down the hydropower converts this potential
energy first into kinetic energy and then to mechanical
energy. This mechanical energy will then pass through
a turbine again converting it to electrical energy. [16]
Hydropower has historically provided low-cost
electricity in a significant number of countries around
the world and is often the cheapest way to generate
electricity where good, unexploited resources exist. [10]
The electricity is clean and renewable. Building more
hydropower dams generates a lot of electricity. This
means Africa’s dependency on fossil fuels will reduce
significantly and non-renewable resources can be
conserved.
III. Demerits of Hydropower
A. Funding issues
Building hydroelectric power requires a large
amount of capital. Countries, with low economic
development, can find it hard to maintain the standards
of a dam. Hence, they seek the help of funding
agencies and these agencies are obliged to fulfil the
requirements. Some funding agencies may take a
longer time to do the research or write a grant before
actually lending the borrower money. Sometimes after
the debtor gets the money the process of building the
dam can be delayed due to several factors.
Accordingly, it will be hard to focus on other
developmental projects as some of the country’s
budget will be confined to the construction of the
hydropower. This will further hinder the country’s
economic growth.
B. Quality Issues
The quality of hydropower should be the priority of
the government. Each government must ensure that
the dam is constructed with high standards so, that it
can operate for many years to become profitable. [5] If
the quality of the dam is not maintained it can be
shattering especially for people living downstream.
Crops that are already ready can be damaged by the
sudden, rapid, and untamed release of confiscated
water. Fortunately, the likelihood of such an
uncontrolled release of water is comparatively rare but
can cause immense damage and loss of life when they
occur. [5]
C. Impact on Fish and Fishery
The fishery is the profession or industry of catching
or rearing fishes. When building hydropower some
water will be restricted to flow. Thus water depletion
will be caused on the other side of the dam causing the
number of fish to reduce drastically. Which in return
cause a shortage of food. It can also hinder the income
of people relying on selling fish as the natural passage
of the fish will be blocked. This will intervene with
their life cycle which can prevent them from being
able to reproduce. This can cause the species to be
threatened with extinction.
D. Natural Vegetation and Resettlement
When hydropower is built vast areas of natural
vegetation are required to be cleared and the
resettlement of people is unavoidable. The wildlife
and natural inhabitance will be distressed. As a result,
this can affect water, since trees are the major source
of water. In addition, these trees also help reduce
heating and cooling costs. Trees save energy through
cooling in the hotter months and provide a windbreak
during winter. This can reduce the fossil fuels that are
burnt to generate electricity for cooling and heating
purposes. [14] Consequently, planting trees is very
important
IV. CONCLUSION
The development of hydroelectric dams, which have
multiple benefits, should be the primary focus of the
continent to attain the United Nation’s targets for
sustainable development in 2050. Though, Africa
cannot materialize these objectives within the targeted
time frame; unless the United Nations assists Africa
without reservation and any political manifestation or
the nations of Africa stand together.
One of the biggest problems of developing
hydropower in Africa is funding. The continent itself
and world economic support actors should give their
most attention and priority in developing the
continent’s ample resources in this regard. In addition,
since the hydropower sources found in the continent
are Trans Boundary Rivers, Lakes and Oceans
collaboration within the countries of Africa, it’s
important to attain mutual benefits. Our hydropower
sources are our blessings. So, including the funding
issues solutions for Africa's sustainable development
should mainly be emanated by Africans for Africans.
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