- Title
- The role of renewable energy in de-urbanizing post COVID Africa
- Creator
- Phillips, Russell
- Subject
- Renewable energy sources -- Africa
- Subject
- Telecommuting -- Africa
- Subject
- f-sa
- Type
- text
- Type
- Lectures
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/52484
- Identifier
- vital:43673
- Description
- The world is becoming increasingly urbanized with more than half of the world population living in cities. In many instances urbanization is seen as a positive phenomenon, however in Africa, urbanization is shown to result in a large proportion of the urban population living in slum conditions. The recent COVID pandemic has necessitated that many persons work remotely and has shown that this arrangement can be both cost effective and efficient. The notion of promoting a remote work concept beyond the pandemic with a view to encouraging de-urbanization is proposed in this research. To achieve meaningful levels of de-urbanization in Africa, particularly in remote, rural areas two major challenges need to be overcome, namely internet connectivity and energy supply. The imminent rollout of Low Earth Orbit Satellites (LEO) for affordable remote connectivity coupled with the maturity of the current solar photovoltaic offerings present seemingly perfect solutions to the identified challenges. Additionally, the record low prices recently reached by Photovoltaic modules and Lithium-ion batteries seem to present fortuitous timing for a mass de-urbanization drive which may have the potential to improve the lives of many people in Africa.
- Format
- 17 pages
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Engineering, the Build Environment and Technology
- Language
- English
- Relation
- Inaugural lectures
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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Inaugural Lectures
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | R.Phillips Inaugural lecture.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |