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Africa needs power - to grow its economies and enhance the welfare
of its people. Power for all is still a long distance away - two
thirds of the population remains without electricity and
enterprises rank electricity as a top constraint to doing business.
This sub-optimal situation coexists while vast energy resources
remain untapped. One solution to harness these resources could be
to tap into the concept of anchor load. Mining industry lends
itself to the concept of anchor load as it needs power in large
quantity and reliable quality to run its processes. Underpinned by
a comprehensive database of mining projects between 2000 and 2020,
this report explores the potential and challenges of using mining
demand for power as anchor load for national power system
development and expansion of electrification. This report finds
that mining demand can indeed be a game-changer - an opportunity
where policymakers and international community can make a
difference in tapping the enormous mineral wealth of Africa for the
benefit of so many people. The utilities would benefit from having
mining companies as creditworthy consumers that facilitate
generation and transmission investments producing economies of
scale needed for large infrastructure projects, benefiting all
consumers in the system. The mines would benefit from grid
supply-typically priced much lower than self-supply-which allows
them to focus on their core business, greatly enhancing their
competitiveness. The country would benefit from more exports and
tax revenues from mines, more job opportunities in local firms
selling goods and services to the mines, and a higher GDP. The
report estimates that mining demand for power can triple since 2000
going upto 23 GW in 2030. While South Africa will continue to be
the dominant presence in mining landscape, its importance will
reduce and other countries, primarily in Southern African region,
will emerge as important contributers of mining demand for power.
Simulations in countries with minimal power-mining interface
suggests that bringing this demand explicitly into the power
planning process can ensure more investments in both grid and
off-grid power systems and potentially superior service delivery
outcomes for mines as well as communities. These opportunities can
also be attractive investment destinations for private sector.
However, there are also risks and institutional roadblocks in
power-mining integration - addressing many of them and employing
risk mitigation mechanism are within the control of policymakers.
The mining industry could play a key role in Africa's energy
sector, since it requires power in large quantity and reliable
quality to run its processes. The integration of mining with power
system development, with appropriate risk mitigation mechanisms,
could bring a win-win solution to utilities, mines, and people at
large.
To reduce the risk of climate change impacts it is necessary for
the world to lower the carbon intensity of economic development.
'Low-Carbon Development for Mexico' estimates the net costs,
greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, and investment that would
be needed to achieve a low-carbon scenario in Mexico to the year
2030. Among the key findings of the study are the following: Energy
efficiency. Improving energy end-use efficiency in the industrial,
residential, and public sectors is the least-cost option for
reducing carbon emissions and can be achieved by accelerating
current Mexican programs and policies. Supply efficiency and
renewable energy. Mexico can lower the carbon intensity of the
economy by improving the efficiency of energy supply in the
electric power and petroleum industries, and by expanding the
adoption of renewable energy technologies such as wind, biomass,
small hydro, and geothermal. Public transport and vehicle fleet
efficiency. Transport is the largest and fastest growing
contributor of GHG emissions in Mexico, the majority of which comes
from road transport. The greatest potential for reducing transport
emissions lies with improving the quality and efficiency of urban
transport, including more efficient vehicles and the design and
organization of cities and public transport systems. Forestry
significant potential with large co-benefits. Measures to reduce
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), along
with afforestation and commercial plantations, are among the
largest GHG mitigation options in Mexico, and could provide
numerous social and environmental benefits in rural areas. By
undertaking a limited number of low-carbon interventions that are
technologically and financially viable today, Mexico could hold
carbon emissions relatively constant over the coming two decades
while maintaining a vigorous rate of economic and social
development. The costs of such a program would be relatively
modest, but would require a range of regulatory and institutional
changes to achieve, especially in the energy and transport
sectors."
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