April 29, 2021

Article by Ellen Fungisai Chipango

Postdoctoral research fellow, University of Johannesburg

Zimbabwe is one of the African countries that hopes renewable energy technologies will help to address their energy problems. About 42% of Zimbabwe’s households are connected to the electricity grid.

The country has huge and diverse renewable energy potential. Its sustainable energy portfolio could include solar, hydro, biomass and, to a limited extent, wind and geothermal. Zimbabwe put forward a National Renewable Energy Policy in 2019. The policy aims to have 16.5% of the total generation capacity (excluding large hydro) from renewable sources by 2025. This increases to 26.5% by 2030. These are among the goals it has presented to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and they are promoted in its climate policy.

For policy makers, non-governmental organisations, the private sector and some researchers, it’s a given that renewable energy technologies are the answer. They could meet Zimbabwe’s growing energy demand and achieve universal access sustainably. At face value this is appealing – but the devil is in the details.

My research looked into how renewable energy technologies are understood and how they could alleviate energy poverty in Zimbabwe.

I found that they’re only one piece of the puzzle and other pieces are habitually missing. No matter how well designed and efficient technologies are, their effectiveness is linked to the country’s political economy.

Socio-economic and political factors keep conventional energy out of reach of the poor. My study shows that they can do the same with renewable energy. These factors may even worsen inequality. Adding renewable energy technologies into the existing energy sector structures is like pouring new wine into old wine skins.

The research

I analysed how policy makers and implementers have highlighted some aspects of energy poverty rather than others. This has led to renewable energy being touted as an antidote to energy poverty.

From the data, the following political and economic factors emerged. They explain why renewable energy isn’t a magic bullet for energy poverty:

The politics of energy and technological dependency: China has become a source of finance for large-scale energy projects in Zimbabwe. This is true for both coal-based and renewable energy generation.

Read more at https://theconversation.com/why-renewable-energy-wont-end-energy-poverty-in-zimbabwe-159008

The post Why renewable energy won’t end energy poverty in Zimbabwe appeared first on EMFSA.

Abstract

Energy poverty is well acknowledged in the global public and scholarly discussions. Nonetheless, it is habitually analysed in isolation from the discourse through which it is framed, produced, represented and known. Using Zimbabwe as a case study, inductive qualitative research reveals that there is one main discourse associated with energy poverty: net deficit (supply–demand mismatch). This discourse is expressed by narratives that have competed for dominance in the Zimbabwean energy sector (2012-present), in particular, the effect of changes in the climate, vandalism of electricity infrastructure, the impact of sanctions, and the low rate of renewable energy adoption, are analysed. Findings reveal that these narratives construct and interpret energy poverty as an outcome of external factors, while alternative views are scarcely considered due to asymmetrical power relations. The paper concludes that energy poverty cannot be understood outside of the political-economic discourse that constructs and interprets it. Hence, a discursive approach to energy poverty is apt for informing a well-balanced energy policy and practice.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214629621001195?via%3Dihub

The post Constructing, understanding and interpreting energy poverty in Zimbabwe: A postmodern perspective appeared first on EMFSA.

[Submitted on 2 Feb 2021]

The Limits of Global Inclusion in AI Development

Alan Chan, Chinasa T. Okolo, Zachary Terner, Angelina Wang

Those best-positioned to profit from the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) systems are those with the most economic power. Extant global inequality has motivated Western institutions to involve more diverse groups in the development and application of AI systems, including hiring foreign labour and establishing extra-national data centers and laboratories. However, given both the propensity of wealth to abet its own accumulation and the lack of contextual knowledge in top-down AI solutions, we argue that more focus should be placed on the redistribution of power, rather than just on including underrepresented groups. Unless more is done to ensure that opportunities to lead AI development are distributed justly, the future may hold only AI systems which are unsuited to their conditions of application, and exacerbate inequality.

PDF available at https://arxiv.org/abs/2102.01265

The post The Limits of Global Inclusion in AI Development appeared first on EMFSA.

Researchers say bigger issues — poverty, corruption, inequality — can undermine rural energy programs if unaddressed.

By Maria Gallucci

In Zimbabwe, where access to the electrical grid is sparse and unreliable, millions of people still burn wood to cook food and heat their homes. The practice is partly to blame for worsening deforestation in the landlocked country. In recent years, government officials have proposed a seemingly straightforward solution: Extend the electric grid into rural villages, and reduce the use of wood for fuel.

But Ellen Fungisai Chipango, a Zimbabwe-born researcher, says that rural electrification isn’t likely to provide any quick fixes. That’s because adding poles, wires, and even off-grid solar systems will do little to alleviate the crushing poverty that leads people to cut large swaths of trees. In her field work, she found that initiatives to expand energy access in Zimbabwe often overlook the larger political and economic forces at play.

Chipango is among researchers worldwide who are closely examining long-held assumptions that electrifying rural homes can boost family incomes, help children study, reduce indoor air pollution, or protect the environment. Stakeholders including scrappy solar startups, major oil and gas companies, and the United Nations have all pledged to work toward improving energy access for one or more of those reasons. But recent studies suggest that, in order to deliver real benefits, programs must be more comprehensive.

Read more at: https://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/environment/zimbabwe-hopes-rural-electrification-stop-deforestation-it-might-not-work

The post Zimbabwe Hopes Rural Electrification Can Stop Deforestation. Here’s Why It Might Not Work appeared first on EMFSA.