Renewable Energy Transition in Africa – Summary Report

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Design: Mandy Darling, Magenta Media

The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town (UCT) hosted a webinar titled Renewable Energy Transition in Africa: Country-Level Measures and Regional Mechanisms on 24 August 2022. This webinar was part of The School’s African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and Transformative Industrialisation Webinar Series. Practitioners and researchers who participated in the webinar explored what is required (nationally and regionally) to scale up renewable energy (RE) investments and green energy industrialisation in Africa.

1. Brief Background

Climate change and energy issues have become pressing priorities for governments and international organisations worldwide. For Africa, its vast renewable energy (RE) resources, coupled with dynamic population growth and declining technology costs, provide significant opportunities for using RE to improve energy access and security, consolidate resilient growth, and stimulate socio-economic benefits. However, over the last decade, investment and development of RE and the manifestation of green energy industrialisation across the continent have been dismal, with challenges of energy access, energy security, and climate change vulnerability growing starkly apparent.

1.1 Objectives

This webinar was the second in a series of dialogues under the theme The AfCFTA and Opportunities for Renewable Energy and Industrial Transformation. The primary objectives of the webinar were:

To outline the status, scenarios and priorities for RE investments and green energy industrialisation in Africa;

• Provide private sector perspective on developing a net zero pathway for the power sector in South Africa;

• Explore lessons from South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) programme;

• Explore lessons from Uganda’s Global Energy Transfer Feed-in Tariffs (GET FiT) programme;

• Identify financial support mechanisms required for catalysing private sector investment;

• Examine local content requirements (LCR) as an industrial policy instrument for green energy industrialisation;

• Explore a regional approach to renewable energy transition through regional electricity markets; and,

• Examine a multilateral approach to development assistance for Africa’s renewable energy agenda.

2. Speaker Biographies

Adnan Amin is a Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, where he works on the Geopolitics of Energy Project. Adnan was elected as the first Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in 2011. He was responsible for leading the Agency in implementing its mandate to promote the adoption and use of renewable energy worldwide until April 2019. In addition, Adnan has held senior positions in the UN. For example, he was the Head of the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination, Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, and Executive Director of the Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence. Currently, Adnan is a member of the UN Secretary-General’s HighLevel Group on Sustainable Energy for All.

Reitumetse Molotsoane is the Head of Environment at the National Business Initiative (NBI) in South Africa. She holds an MSc from Imperial College, London. Reitumetse was formerly the Director of Mitigation Response Analysis and the Director of Climate Change Priority Programmes at the South African National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment. She was also the Senior Manager for Climate Change at Ernst and Young and a Senior Consultant at Camco Clean Energy, a specialist climate and impact fund manager based in the UK.

Dickens Kamugisha is the current Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of the Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), based in Uganda. Dickens is an advocate of the High Court of Uganda and a member of the Uganda Law Society (ULS) and the East African Law Society. He holds a Master of Laws degree majoring in energy governance from Makerere University. Before joining AFIEGO, Dickens worked as a State Attorney in Uganda’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) office. He has published over 20 articles on electricity, oil and other energy governance challenges in Uganda and Africa.

Joshua Wycliffe is the Chief of Operations at International Solar Alliance (ISA), based in India. He is an international executive with several years of expertise in international development, public service, the environment, local government, and infrastructure. He has spearheaded transformational programs across government functionaries in multiple countries worldwide. He was formally the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Environment in Fiji. He holds a Master’s in Management (Public Service Administration) from Massey University, New Zealand.

Britta Rennkamp is a senior researcher at the African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI), University of Cape Town. She focuses on climate policy and technology in developing countries and the links between poverty, inequality, energy and climate change mitigation. She has published various papers

and book chapters on the overall question of integrating policies on emissions reductions, energy supply and development in Africa and Latin America. Before joining the University of Cape Town, Britta worked for the German International Cooperation in Brazil and the German Development Institute in Germany. She holds a PhD in Political Science from Twente University and has ten years of international work experience in sustainable development research, consulting, and teaching.

Kudakwashe Ndhlukula is the Executive Director of the SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE). Before joining SACREEE, Kudakwashe worked as an energy infrastructure expert operating in the SADC region, and he also worked for the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi. Additionally, he was the Director of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Institute (REEEI) in Namibia (2007-2012), where he formulated and executed various projects, including establishing the Green Building Council of Namibia. Kudakwashe also has experience in the power utility sector; he worked as an electricity trader for the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (2006-2007). Amongst other qualifications, Kudakwashe holds an MBA and an MSc in Renewable Energy Engineering.

Johan van den Berg is the Head of the Secretariat of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership in Bonn, Germany. Previously he was the CEO of the South African Wind Energy Association and Chair of the South African Renewable Energy Council. In addition, Johan has spent more than twenty years as an advocate in energy and climate protection work.

Steve Dihwa is the Executive Director of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) Coordination Centre. Steve has over 30 years of experience in the power sector. Steve started working for the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) in 1988 and rose to Business Development Director of the transmission subsidiary; he held this position until 2007. He then worked as a System Planning Advisor at Mozambique Electricity Utility. From 2008 to 2012, he was a Senior Manager responsible for Planning the Renewable Energy & System Integration in NamPower (Namibia). From 2013 to 2016, Steve worked as a power engineer consultant for the African Development Bank in Zimbabwe. In 2016, Steve was appointed as the Principal Director of Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Energy and Power Development; he held this post until the end of 2017.

Gerhard Fourie is a Chief Director of Green Industries at South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC). He has extensive experience in the South African government, having worked previously in policy development divisions for advanced manufacturing, information and telecommunications technology, trade and investment, and in the Board of Tariffs and Trade (now the International Trade Administration Commission [ITAC] of South Africa). He holds BCom and MBA degrees from the University of Pretoria.

3. Presentations

3.1 RE investments and green energy industrialisation in Africa: Status, scenarios and priorities

Adnan Amin provided a comprehensive overview of Africa’s renewable energy (RE) transition and green energy industrialisation status, challenges and priorities. Below is a summary of the primary points of Adnan’s presentation:

3.3.1 The RE transition: A global megatrend

Renewable energy transition in global energy systems constitutes one, if not the most significant megatrend of rapid global change, with implications for quality of life, industrialisation, and sustainability of economic growth. For Africa and the developing world, a key consideration for the RE transition is the growing energy demand – underpinned by rapid growth in population, industrialisation, urbanisation and living standards – and the climate change crisis. This necessitates developing energy systems that are sustainable and compliant with a climate-friendly future. Among the factors driving the RE transition are technological advancements and the need for energy self-sufficiency. Technological advances have made renewable energy power generation the cheapest power source for numerous countries. The need to be energy self-sufficient, especially in Europe, results mainly from geopolitical tensions related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Higher education institutions in Africa must develop an understanding and awareness of how technological shifts and innovations are changing the energy future and the massive opportunities that African countries must seize.

3.1.2 RE transition and the green energy industrialisation in Africa

Over the last seven years, the bulk of new capacity additions in the global electricity system has been from RE sources. However, much of this has been outside of Africa. The

few exceptions are Morocco, Kenya and South Africa, where there has been rapid growth in renewable electricity generation and enhanced energy self-sufficiency.

Africa is entering an era of rapid industrialisation, economic growth and improved living standards, resulting in high energy demands. While the fossil fuel economy spurred industrialisation, the RE future offers opportunities for industrialisation through the evolution of local RE manufacturing value chains, as local content requirements (LCR) of RE projects across several African countries show.

For oil and gas-rich countries on the continent, there is an imminent political and financial risk to the continuous investment in such resource potentials, as future energy systems will not be fossil-fuel based. Moreover, cross-border price adjustments based on carbon prices will affect the export competitiveness of such resources.

3.1.3 Driving private sector investment

The colossal capital requirement needed for developing Africa’s RE resource potential calls for private sector finance, including institutional investors. Nevertheless, there are critical challenges to private investment in RE, including a lack of knowledge of RE investment opportunities, limited market size, and high-risk premiums underpinned by political, policy, and regulatory risks. These barriers must be addressed to foster private sector confidence by engaging investors, de-risking RE investments, and creating stable policy and regulatory frameworks.

There is a mounting need to begin developing pipelines of bankable projects that are part of a coherent strategy for electrification through renewable energy, both at the national and regional levels. Investments aimed at strengthening and modernising grid infrastructure are also crucial, as grid infrastructure will remain a key channel of energy access. For instance, new grid technologies, such as high voltage direct current transmission over long distances, will be helpful when considering a continental distribution system. It is also crucial to manage variable power on the electricity grid system by integrating increasingly cheaper storage technology.

3.1.4 A regional approach to RE investment and industrialisation

With substantial solar, wind, geothermal and hydro resource potential, Africa is the energy superpower of the future. Realising this potential hinges on creating an enabling environment, including regulatory and institutional frameworks that drive infrastructural investments. The success of regional objectives envisioned under the African Clean Energy Corridors initiative is vital to promote the accelerated development of renewable energy potential and cross-border electricity trade with regional power pools. By strengthening regional institutions to invest in cross-border transmission infrastructure, a single African electricity market can be created with large volumes of renewables that would help balance the system, reduce costs, and create a framework for indigenous energy in Africa. Leveraging the AfCFTA for transformative industrialisation requires sustainable energy sources. Thus, a single African electricity market is crucial for insulating the continent from the impacts of climate change and carbon border adjustment mechanisms.

It is important to remember that the transition to a renewable energy system across Africa would require just and inclusive policy frameworks that reduce risks for incumbents of the current fossil fuel-based energy system.

3.2 Developing a net zero pathway for the power sector in South Africa

Reitumetse Molotsoane provided a private sector perspective on requirements for achieving a net-zero energy transition in South Africa by 2050 and offered possible strategies to ensure a just transition. Her primary points are outlined below:

3.2.1 Net-zero South Africa — It all hinges on renewables

The physical risk of climate change in South Africa is significant, and the economic and social cost of inaction is massive. In particular, since the country faces a considerable trade risk, with key export markets already committing to a net zero energy transition. Approximately 50% of South Africa’s export value,

more than 1,000,000 direct jobs, and some 15% of GDP will be at risk if carbon emissions in South Africa are not reduced.

The Climate Pathways and Just Transition study for South Africa (“The Study”), published in 2022, was undertaken by the National Business Initiative of Business Unity South Africa and Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The study assessed what would be required to achieve a net-zero energy transition in South Africa by 2050 and explored options to ensure that it is socially resilient and inclusive.

Given South Africa’s heavy reliance on coal and the triple challenge of inequality, poverty, and unemployment, the country’s net-zero commitment is one of the most challenging decarbonisation undertakings globally.

The study found that a just transition for a competitive, net-zero economy hinges on decarbonising the electricity sector by unlocking the country’s renewable resources at an unprecedented pace and scale; decarbonising the electricity sector already enables a nearly 60% reduction of carbon emissions. That is, by 2050, at least 190GW of renewables must be installed in South Africa. This means that 6GW to 7GW of renewable energy needs to be deployed every year from 2022 until 2050. This could nearly double if the green hydrogen opportunity is captured.

By developing an energy system anchored in renewables, South Africa can solve its energy crisis and improve its power supply’s affordability, availability, and reliability. Simultaneously, it must develop new green industries to help create a globally competitive economy resilient to trade risk arising from the net zero energy transition.

3.2.2 Expanding and modernising South Africa’s power grid

South Africa’s power grid needs to expand and improve to accommodate large-scale renewable-energy capacity from across the country and deal with an increasingly electrified economy. Currently, only about 30GW of renewables can be added to the grid. This is short of the 190GW needed for the power system by 2050.

The grid needs to be modernised through

digitisation to better match the supply and demand for renewable power. If these grid upgrades are not completed, the transition to renewable energy cannot be rolled out at the required pace, thus jeopardising South Africa’s goal of achieving a net-zero energy state by 2050.

Unlocking South Africa’s renewable-energy sources will position the country to capture opportunities in new green markets and drive further job creation. If renewable-energy value chain elements are localised, a renewable power system can create 2.4 million cumulative employment opportunities by 2050.

However, reducing inequality, strengthening social cohesion, eradicating poverty, ensuring inclusive participation, and managing socio-economic risks in a greener energy economy will require more than a just approach. South Africa will need significant global support, including preferential green funding, trade support, aid in building capacity and developing skills, and in facilitating tech-

3.2.3 The financial challenge

The main challenge to South Africa’s net-zero ambitions is access to finance. More than ZAR 6 trillion in investments are needed to reach a net-zero South Africa by 2050. Of this, the power sector requires approximately ZAR 3 trillion in investments.

Approximately ZAR 1 trillion is required by 2030, of which ZAR 310 billion is required for investments in renewable energy alone. Overall, about 60% of the investments needed by 2030 are sufficiently bankable and mature enough to be funded mainly from privatesector sources. International development finance will be critical to funding “nonbankable” investments (such as social and reskilling costs), and to cover the “economic gap” in new green industries and therefore attract further private-sector investment (for example, subsidising green hydrogen costs and stimulate supply-side investments).

nology transfers with international partners.

3.3 Lessons from South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP)

Gerhard Fourie outlined the progress, emerging challenges, and lessons from South Africa’s renewable energy programme. Below is a summary of the primary points of Gerhard’s presentation:

• To facilitate private sector investment into grid-connected RE generation, the South African Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) employs a competitive tendering process. The awarded projects must spend some of their generated revenue on socio-economic development (SED) and enterprise development (ED), and local communities must have a stake in projects.

• Key observable trends in the REIPPPP include an increasing number of bidders, interests from large international consortiums that operate in many regions of the globe and significant decreases in prices over successive bidding phases/bid windows.

• Several emerging challenges include an underdeveloped RE local supply chain that impedes localisation objectives. In addition, disruptions impacting international supply chains affect access to components and increase the cost of projects, providing further impetus to develop local supply chains.

• Expectations of a continuous decline in the price of RE technologies, including Solar Photovoltaic (PV), have also not materialised. In effect, project developers find it challenging to achieve financial close on some projects while meeting industrialisation and social-economic commitments.

• Achieving maximum gains from RE programmes requires creating an enabling environment for private sector investments and the evolution of local RE manufacturing value chains. Crucial to this — in terms of industrialisation — is to identify existing local manufacturing opportunities.

• Regarding local content requirements

(LCR), because conditions are too strict, it affects the ability to reach financial close for some projects. Thus, including a lower level of local content requirements and increasing it over time is the most practical approach.

• Although the use of auctions or competitive bidding is driving competition, it is also leading to the dominance of a few big players – with significant, often international industry incumbents reportedly out-bidding smaller, newer, or local bidders. The implications of the dominance of prominent international players in these auctions on developing a nascent domestic renewable energy sector need to be examined.

3.4 Lessons from Uganda’s GET FiT programme

Dickens Kamugisha provided an overview of Uganda’s Global Energy Transfer Feed-in Tariffs (GET FiT) programme, outlining key challenges and lessons from the programme design and implementation process. Below is a summary of the main points of Dickens’ presentation:

• Launched in 2013, Uganda’s GET FiT programme is meant to assist in pursuing a climate-resilient, low-carbon development path for the country while simultaneously ensuring economic growth, poverty reduction, and climate change mitigation. By leveraging private investments into RE generation projects across Uganda, the project aims to drive a decentralised RE generation capacity for environmental sustainability, grid stability, and produce a secure and affordable energy supply.

• So far, 17 small power plants have been developed under the programme, creating a track record of successful private investments in Uganda’s power sector. There are, however, several challenges that threaten the sustainability and effectiveness of the programme, which are outlined below:

» The GET FiT programme considered grid infrastructure planning and investments as the government’s responsibility and is thus outside the programme’s scope. However, the government’s failure to plan for and invest in grid infrastructure is now hampering the portfolio’s grid connection, resulting in power congestion, losses, and high utility charges. Future energy

transition programmes may benefit from a more integrated approach to proactive and coordinated planning of associated infrastructure or the inclusion of necessary infrastructure into the power grid.

» The primary feature of the GET FiT programme was that successful renewable energy projects were eligible to receive premium payments under the programme’s Premium Payment Mechanism to “top up” the relevant renewable energy feed-in tariffs (REFiTs) per kWh, as set out by the Ugandan Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA). As a result, the programme — considering the payment profile and despite the relatively small sizes of the projects — has resulted in bid tariffs that are very generous to developers compared to other international cases, including South Africa. While the high bid prices are underpinned by many factors, including a risky business environment, they reflect the sub-optimal use of concessional finance (i.e. premium payments).

» Because of a lack of explicit social and environmental performance assessments, local socio-economic impacts and risks were not adequately considered. As such, several small hydropower plants are being impacted by climate change factors, including the declining water levels in rivers. Failure to explicitly incorporate social and environmental performance standards as qualification criteria suggests that there is no commitment to invest in ecosystem restoration, which is necessary to maintain critical water catchment areas that the building of power plants has damaged.

» Due to poor management, high operational costs, and the consequent inadequate power distribution coupled with the exorbitant cost of access to electricity, the Ugandan government is exploring options of merging the three agencies in the local electricity sector (Uganda Electricity Generation Company, Uganda Electricity Transmission Company, and Uganda Electricity Distribution Company) into a single entity and nationalising the main distribution concession. However, reforming the entities would reverse the initial reforms and could hamper private sector participation.

3.5 Stimulating private investment in renewable energy beyond competitive procurement programmes

Joshua Wycliffe presented additional financial support mechanisms required for catalysing private sector investment in renewable energy in Africa. Below is a summary of the primary points of Joshua’s presentation:

• The world’s energy and climate future increasingly hinge on whether emerging and developing economies can successfully transition to cleaner energy systems. For developing economies, achieving a net zero energy future requires trillions of dollars in private investment. To realise these investment needs, obstacles to private-sector investment must be addressed, which has also been the focus of the International Solar Alliance.

• Innovative financing mechanisms for risk mitigation and offering additional return potential to investors through blended finance are employed with insurance and guarantee instruments.

• Equally important is establishing the transparency and predictability that would provide confidence for the private sector investor regarding the possibility of recovering investments.

3.6 Trade barrier or green industrial policy? Localisation in renewable energy in South Africa’s REIPPP

Britta Rennkamp provided perspectives on the local content requirements (LCR) as an industrial policy instrument in the context of South Africa’s REIPPP programme. She outlined the pros and cons of such an approach. Below is a summary of the primary points of Britta’s presentation:

• Whether the LCR in RE programmes are deemed trade barriers or conducive green industrial policy instruments depends on design features. Key considerations include

the type of technology, human capacity, and general competitiveness. The LCR also involves some trade-offs between price outcomes and socio-economic development criteria. From a South African perspective, the 70:30 framework1 implies the prominence of price outcomes. Furthermore, in implementing the REIPPPP, developers face trade-offs in the incentive structure for LCRs as local factories cannot deliver with the same speed and quality as imports.

• Overall, there has been significant progress in the domestic manufacturing of RE technology components owing to the LCR under the REIPPPP. However, delays suffered by the auction programme caused some companies with manufacturing capabilities to close due to uncertainty, thus impairing the localisation effect.

• The evolution of South Africa’s power sector, including several policies already in place, offers a conducive environment for diverse ownership and more energy democracy in the context of public and institutional resistance to the privatisation of the energy sector. For example, the 100MW licensing exemption2 enables municipalities and private consumers to buy or procure new-generation capacity.

3.7 The AfCFTA, regional power pools, and energy transition

Kudakwashe Ndhlukula offered a regional perspective on energy transition, highlighting the relative success of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) in evolving from a cooperative to a competitive electricity market serving as a model of an African single electricity market. Below is a summary of the key points of Kudakwashe’s presentation:

• Multiple studies and models suggest that regional electricity interconnection and trade offer a cost-effective means of

1 A scoring framework that assigns 70% weight to bid price and 30% to economic development objectives.

2 In August 2021, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy gazetted the amendments to Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act, exempting a generation facility of up 100MW (previously 1MW) to procure power without requiring a generation licence from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA).

deploying renewable energy resources, enhancing energy security and reducing costs and emissions. In Southern Africa, without enhanced regional power integration, there are risks of continued investments in coal power generation and other less cost-effective power projects.

• The SAPP, which started with bilateral arrangements, is leading the way in establishing a competitive regional electricity market. Its successful migration from a cooperative pool into a competitive pool has made it a model for the vision of a single continental electricity market.

• Angola, Malawi and Tanzania are yet to be connected to the power pool. Connecting these countries is crucial as Angola, for instance, has excess generation capacity. Besides new interconnections, transmission infrastructure needs to be improved for adequate and reliable power supply in future.

3.8 Financing cross-border transmission infrastructure

Steve Dihwa outlined the SAPP regional energy market (REM) and progress being made towards achieving a single African electricity market. He highlighted key plans and progress made on developing cross-border transmission infrastructure. Below is a summary of the main points of Steve’s presentation:

• The SAPP regional energy market (REM) includes independent power producers (IPPs) – moving private sector investment from national-level power purchase agreements with utilities to regional market arrangements. With a flourishing auction market, the SAPP REM has seen volumes of trade increase over the years, reaching over 2000GW hours per year.

• Efforts are being made to get all countries in the region interconnected. In this regard, three goals are being prioritised:

1. Getting Angola, Tanzania and Malawi interconnected;

2. Investing in transmissions that will increase energy traded in the region; and,

3. Transmissions to move power from massive generation projects to load

distribution centres within the region.

• Investments in transmission networks are mainly spearheaded by development finance institutions and state-owned utilities. Fiscal constraints from the public sector and consequent deficient transmission infrastructure need innovative business models to unlock private investment in Africa’s electricity transmission sector.

• There are prospects of developing a regional transmission infrastructure financing facility to attract diverse funding sources – including private sector capital – to fund national and cross-border transmission infrastructure. Subsequently, such a fund can be integrated into a regional development fund.

• Crucial to driving the regional electricity market is addressing the concerns of stakeholders through enhanced engagements. Ministries responsible for energy and energy regulators are encouraged to harmonise regulatory regimes and drive the expansion of cross-border infrastructure investments.

• There are prospects for a single African electricity market as some countries are members of more than one power pool. Advanced plans are in place to interconnect the Southern African and East African power pools. This would facilitate more opportunities for electricity trade and could eventually see all power pools connected, leading to the establishment of a continental power network.

• Progress has been made on feasibility studies related to a single continental electricity market. Through a Continental Power System Master Plan Project, subsystems of a stable and reliable intra-regional and inter-regional power systems network will be identified to ensure the development of the envisaged African Single Electricity Market. Such a market would also assist many countries in taking advantage of the various energy resources available across the continent and simultaneously enable power integration among member states of the African Union.

3.9 The role of international cooperation in the green energy transition

Johan van den Berg remarked on the multilateral approach to development assistance for Africa’s renewable energy agenda, offering perspectives on avoiding fragmentation, and instead facilitating systemic change. A summary of the primary points of Johan’s presentation is noted below:

3.9.1 Pan African initiatives

Much progress has been made in pan-African power initiatives over the years – from the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM) to the African Continental Power Systems Master Plan (CMP) and, more recently, the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative.3 For the success of the AfCFTA, energy is crucial as it enables trade and is also a traded commodity. A prosperous African future includes energy access based on a climate-safe and human-centred power system that enables industrialisation and free trade. This necessitates the development of RE-centred electricity systems – based on solar and wind, which by their nature of variability, calls for trade.

The future will be multilateral, involving international partnerships with friendly and trusted neighbours. In this regard, the South African REIPP serves as an apt example. It has garnered the interest of many international players and accumulated about $ 15 billion in private investment.

3.9.2 Avoiding fragmentation

The danger of fragmentation of development support for Africa is well understood. The new European approach to the next partnership phase with Africa and the world is multilateral and involves a united “Team Europe.” For Africa, the challenge is to build a unified African team, but this depends largely on the ability of continental institutions to mobilise countries.

It is essential to demonstrate a successful multilateral approach as soon as possible. It might take one country to speed the transition along, show what is possible, and reassure African politicians that regional approaches to energy are not only cost-effective but also that mutual dependence is necessary for a competitive global economy. Indeed, lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war and the resultant economic crisis it has engendered globally bares testament to the urgent need for mutual dependence.

3.9.3 How do we create systems change?

Creating a system-wide change starts with the regulatory framework – it has been an essential ingredient for success in South Africa REIPPP since 2011.

Politically, in many cases, sound African policies agreed upon at the continental level are not implemented at the national level. As such, Africa’s regional economic communities need to play more prominent roles in continental master planning and in ensuring that their member countries’ development plans reflect or align with regional commitments and agreements.

Politicians also need to be better informed about the seismic change in global energy systems and consequent technological advances, climate considerations, and benefits for RE. At the same time, it is important to amplify the voice of the younger generation and include them in decision-making processes as they are the future stakeholders of long-term plans.

3 On 3rd June 2021, the African Union (AU) launched the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM), the world’s largest continent-wide energy trading program meant to interconnect all 55 African Union Member States through an efficient, affordable, and sustainable electricity market. The African Continental Power Systems Master Plan (CMP) is an ongoing initiative led by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) that aims to establish a long-term continent-wide planning process for power generation and transmission involving all five African power pools. In the context of the 6th EU - AU Summit, Europe proposed the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative to support Africa’s green transition in the energy sector by increasing renewable energy capacity, increasing the number of African people gaining access to affordable and reliable energy, promoting sustainable energy uses and supporting market integration and sector reforms.