Summit Showcases Initiatives to Alleviate Power Shortages in Africa

Summit Showcases Initiatives to Alleviate¹ Power Shortages in Africa

Investors² and power developers from around the world gathered in Washington last week to push ideas and efforts to alleviate the shortages of electricity that plague many African countries.

The In-Stream Auger³ Turbine, which uses flowing water to generate power, was among the technological⁴ innovations exhibited at the second annual Powering Africa Summit.

“This unit, unlike other hydro-energy projects, doesn't take years to perform,” said Chun Pong Ng of Zoetic Global. “Unlike wind and solar that only deliver when Mother Nature cooperates, these units deliver energy 24/7, nonstop as long as the river flows."

His company just signed a 100-megawatt purchasing power agreement with Ghana's electricity company and hopes to deliver the turbines by mid-summer.

Another example of innovation: Karpownership, dubbed⁵ the "floating power plant," according to Veronica Bolton-Smith from EnergyNet, the organizer of the summit.

"They are able to pull power that's generated from their ship onto the mainland and they've just done a project in Ghana and it was quite successful," Bolton-Smith said.

However, she stressed, the smaller projects are just as important as bigger ones.

"We've got something called 'Shake Your Power' which is run by a lady called Sudha. It's a little device kind of like a musical instrument; you shake it and it emits a light,” Bolton-Smith said. “That's going to be relevant to someone living in a provincial⁶ place that has no reading light or can't see their cooking utensils⁷."

Progress, praise, hope

It was 2013 when President Barack Obama unveiled the new power Africa initiative with a vow⁸ to invest $7 billion in U.S. government resources.

Fast forward to this week, in which Power Africa coordinator⁹ Andrew Herscowitz unveiled a free app called PATT, which can track hundreds of energy projects in the continent.  

"What we've done with this road map is we've shown specifically how we're going to add 30,000 megawatts and 60 million connections," he said.

Babacar Diagne, Senegal's ambassador to the U.S., praised Obama's initiative, which he credits with helping¹⁰ to boost Senegal's electricity production.

He said nearly $100 million from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation will allow Senegal's biggest power plant to reopen in May 2016.

OPIC financing provides medium- to long-term funding through direct loans and loan guaranties to eligible¹¹ investment projects in developing countries.

Opportunity for many

The hope is that these partnerships¹² are just the beginning, said Gabino Guerengomba, CEO of Integrated Solar Technologies.

"The electricity shortage in Africa is 90 million megawatts, so it cannot only take one company or one government," Guerengomba said.

Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings, which operates a portfolio¹³ of businesses across Africa, also stressed the importance of partnerships in creating success for all parties.

“We are the first solar module¹⁴ that’s developed from the ground up exclusively for Africa," he said of a recent project. “As a result of it, we have not only produced our first unit, but we went on to get a very good contract with the government of Benin. We are here not only to present our joint¹⁵ venture, but also to seek partners to showcase how our technology can really be a game-changer in the energy sector¹⁶ in Africa."

The future, agrees Herscowitz, is bright.

“There is absolutely no reason the entire continent can’t be lit up,” he said, “because there is the money, the technology and the desire to make it happen. People have to be more forward thinking, forward leaning and have competition to bring cost down.

“The new external challenge with what’s going on with commodity prices being lower and currency devaluation; that’s going to add an additional complication, so our role is going to be what we can do to help mitigate¹⁷ some of those risks as well.”

1 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

2 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

3 auger   

n.螺丝钻，钻孔机

参考例句：

• We make a hole in the ice with an auger.我们用螺旋钻在冰上钻洞。
• Already the Snowblast's huge auger blades were engorging snow.扬雪车上庞大的钻头叶片在开始大量吞进积雪。

4 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

5 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

7 utensils   

器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物

参考例句：

• Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

8 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

9 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

12 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

13 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

14 module   

n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱

参考例句：

• The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
• Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。

15 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

16 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

17 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。