What is energy? It takes so many forms. From days gone by it was characterized by one resource primarily. Coal. The thing is that coal existed beside other forms of energy production as well. The waterwheel and the windmill where standard forms of “off-grid” energy generation. These forms of energy generation served a specific purpose for industrial use and domestic use. Why is it such a mental hurdle for society at large to get over the one size fits all approach to energy? Coal is being phased out. This is not a bad thing. Ramping up the off-grid solution though is pitched as new and innovative. Localized energy generation can be productive. It needs to be for the efforts/capital taken to install it. A transition to efficiency is uniform across all energy production. Electrical generation is necessary in the modern world so much more than in the past. Gas is a resource that was wasted for 100 years. It has an efficiency that exceeds coal. Solar has the capability, the wind has the ability, water has efficiency. Together these sources of energy will continue to transform the world as we know it. The one thing that power has not added to the mix in the past is data. The data collection available now from the gather, generation, transmission, usage, and waste is so massive that it makes one think where the actual efficiency needs to be. Energy technology is only just beginning. North America is not a leader. Europe is not a leader. Asia is not a leader. Only in Africa do we see the evolution of data and technology altering each other as the value perceptions change. Energy powers, transportation, personal and public. The data here has not even begun a discussion in the public discourse. Circling back around to the need for energy, it solves a specific purpose based on localized data. Herein lie a fascinating thought discourse and investment thesis for energy in Africa.
