The Foreign Service Journal, June 2023

32 JUNE 2023 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL personally worked on negotiations to create five new power plants in Africa for the company Contour Global. Three of these plants are in Nigeria; one is in Togo and one in Rwanda. The power plant in Rwanda is particularly interesting. It utilizes gas that is in suspension in Lake Kivu as fuel. The gas seeps up from the lake bottom. The company pipes the gas from a floating barge to the power plant on shore. Besides supplying power, the plant is of critical importance ecologically. If the gas is not extracted from the lake, the gas buildup will cause a major explosion at some point during the next hundred years. Such an explosion happened in 1986 in Lake Nyos in northwest Camer- oon, killing 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock. Renewables and Food Security There is also significant potential for renewable energy in Africa. Of particular significance is the Grand Inga hydroelectric complex on the Congo River, approximately 50 miles from the Atlantic Ocean port of Boma. The complex now consists of two power plants—Inga 1 and Inga 2, completed in 1972 and 1982, respectively—and is currently producing 1,100 MW, with 500 MW flowing to the Southern African Power Pool switch in Zambia. The DC transmission line was financed in 1992 with a loan from Bankers Trust guaranteed by the U.S. Overseas Private Invest- ment Corporation. The complete Grand Inga project envi- sions adding six more power plants to the complex, bringing total capacity to more than 40,000 MW and making it the world’s largest hydroelectric project. The second phase involves construction of a third plant, Inga 3, which is slated to increase power output by about 4,000 MW. All the inhabitants of the district where the Inga 3 plant is sited were relocated in the year 2000. As of 2022, the planning for con- struction of the third plant was being done by Spanish private contractors. Though the overall Grand Inga project was discussed at the summit, there appears to be no prospect for financing the third and last phase in the foreseeable future. The second phase, construction of Inga 3, however, was of particular interest because it would make electricity available to the entire central African subregion. The USAID office Power Africa is available to facilitate potential American power company investments. Other sources of renewable energy are wind and solar, both abundant in different Africa subregions. Because wind does not blow all the time, and because the sun does not shine at night, batteries are required for energy storage. Storage batter- ies require the minerals cobalt and lithium, both of which are abundant in Africa. As of 2022, lithiummines were under devel- opment in Zimbabwe, Namibia, Ghana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Mali. The DRC has the second-largest known deposit of cobalt after Russia. In general, Africa is potentially very strong in renewables—provided the necessary financing becomes available. The last day of the summit, devoted to leaders sessions, closed with a discussion on partnering to promote food security and food systems resilience. Food security in Africa is precarious because so much of the food Africans consume originates abroad, where unexpected events occasionally cause supply interruptions. A good example is the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. In normal times, Ukraine supplies 40 percent of the wheat that Africa uses to make bread. During the first three months of 2022, Russia was able to prevent Ukrai- nian ships from transiting the Crimea straits, thereby cutting Africa off from its major source of wheat. After the international media cast blame on Russia, grain shipments were resumed STEKRUEBE/WIKIMEDIA Improvements in operations and infrastructure at Benin’s Port of Cotonou supported by the Millennium Challenge Corporation are opening up the economic potential of the region. Inset: Map showing the beneficially affected countries.