Energy security and sustainability nowadays go hand in hand and are top of the agenda for many governments worldwide. Africa is no exception, with the continent facing rapidly growing energy demand, critical energy access gaps, and an imperative for development. Africa’s imperative to accelerate its socioeconomic development in a resilient and sustainable way could immensely benefit from accelerating clean energy deployment, as was stated at the COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh. Failing to do so poses major threats to the continent already suffering the most from the impacts of climate change.
Yet, while global renewable energy investments reached record-high levels, renewables are still critically underfunded in Africa, signaling urgent work ahead. Despite global renewable energy investment reaching record-high levels of USD 434 billion in 2021, only 0.6% of that investment went to Africa – an 11-year low. This indicates that, despite strong investor appetite in the global clean energy transition, financing and investment don’t end up yet where it is needed most.
The continent had already attracted only 2% of global renewable energy investments in the past two decades. Renewable energy investment must flow where it is most needed and where natural resources, such as wind and sun, are plentiful. Investment barriers need to be addressed, and clean energy financing has to scale up in Africa, or the continent will lose an immense opportunity to leapfrog 20th-century infrastructure toward reaching sustainable economic growth and development as per the UN Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 goals in the coming decades.
As energy decisions have become urgent, remaking the case for sustainable energy development in Africa is crucial. Today’s energy policy, technology, and infrastructure decisions will determine the blueprint for Africa’s future energy systems for the coming decades. Current macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical change mustn’t distract from making Africa’s power systems future-proof, inclusive, sustainable, and equitable. Although each country defines its journey and there is no single path solution for succeeding in the sustainable energy transformation of Africa’s 54 countries, renewable energy technologies can unleash multiple opportunities to achieve Africa’s twin goals of sustainable access to energy and green industrialization.
In the runup to COP28 by the end of this year, it is more important than ever to make the business case for sustainable energy development in Africa and set the record straight on renewables to inform energy decisions. Renewable energy is reaching new competitiveness levels, even in today’s context of energy crisis. Power generation costs from renewable energy sources have already dropped for well over a decade. This trend now continues. Indeed, last year building new wind and solar generation became, on average, cheaper than building new fossil fuel power plants. Today, wind and solar PV LCOEs in Africa are below natural gas and compete with coal. Renewables are now the most cost-effective option for expanding installed capacity or replacing old assets worldwide, including in Africa. Beyond cost benefits, renewables also enhance energy security because of several factors, including their non-reliance on volatile fuels. Renewables are modular, adaptable, and very rapid to deploy, and can address access to energyin remote areas.
Renewable energy is also climate-resilient and catalyzes socio-economic development. Being flexible to adapt to the rapidly changing needs of the African continent is essential to ensure a just energy transition, and renewables are a vital ally.
A Guest Editorial