Note the cost of Hydropower at $1-3/watt are quite large and if not planned and implemented correctly can lead to huge time and cost escalation.The Inga 3 Dam being proposed to be built on the Congo River in the DRC faces tough choices.The Hydro Dam on the Congo which will become the biggest hydro power project in Africa is wresting over design issues.The major choice is between tunneling through rock structures or keeping open channels.Note the total cost of the 7 GW Power Plant will be around $14 billion making it the biggest investment in Congo and the 5th largest Hydro Power Plant in the world.Note Africa suffers from chronic power shortages which will become more acute with rising cots of fossil fuels and increasing per capita electricity demands.Making correct decisions on energy is vitally important for the development of the African continent.China is the country with the largest hydro power capacity at 200 GW which it wants to further increase to a massive 400 GW by 2020.
Coal Mines in Indonesia,Australia,Africa and North America are selling like hot cakes as Indian,Chinese companies as well as mining conglomerates like Rio Tinto,Vale,BHP Billiton fight to secure raw materials.Note India and China are consuming huge amounts of coal to power their thermal plants.While China consumes a monstrous 3 billion tons,Indian demand is rising at more than 10% a year though on a smaller base.Coal is the cheapest form of power despite its polluting and health hazardous affect.Though Coal Plants in Developed countries are becoming much more expensive to build due to taxes and opposition by environmental groups,there is no stopping their furious growth in countries like China and India.Though India too faces some environmental opposition,massive ultra mega power plants with capacity of 4000 MW are getting built by new Indian private utilities
China is using its industrial strengths to become an emerging low cost low quality Weapons Exporters.Note the Global Arms Market is dominated by USA and Russia with UK,France,Germany the other major exporters.China,India are the biggest importers of arms with most of their purchases from Russia.However the equation is set to change with China moving up the Technology Ladder to become an Arms Exporter.China has started to export fighter aircraft and missiles and is looking to export drones as well.Its major customers are countries which have difficulty in finding weapons elsewhere.Pakistan is the biggest customer with joint development of weapons with China.Note Russia has become alarmed over the developments as many of Chinese arms said to be copied from Russian Technology.
The Desertec Initiative is the Biggest Green Energy Project ever conceived with a vast scale and an ambitious vision.However Desertec falls short on many parameters which are described above for it to ever reach fruition.While small scale versions of this Concept can be implemented like that by Solar Millennium in Egypt,the massive energy framework conceived by Desertec is not feasible.The Huge Subsidies and High Costs make it uneconomical despite its Clean Energy Promise.
Chinese Firms are not exactly renowned for their Environmental Credentials and the weak regulations in African Countries does not give them an incentive to be so.Concerns were raised about the impact of a Chinese Ore Mine in the forests of Gabon.With lax oversight and easily corruptible administration,the Damage is already Done before it can be Stopped.Africa countries in general are ruled by Undemocratic, Corrupt rulers which are willing to go along with Environmental Degradation in return for Bribes.
China with its $2 Trillion Foreign Exchange Reserves is on the constant lookout for cheap assets around the world.With its massive horde of Dollars and Euros depreciating on a daily basis,the Chinese government is investing in Hard Assets in places like Africa,Venezuela etc. who are in desperate need of capital.It seems that China has found […]