THE GREEN CONTINENT

Africa’s huge energy resources mean the energy resources mean the continent is well placed to capitalise on gathering continent is well to on momentum behind clean energy technologies, if momentum behind clean energy investment can be mobilised, reports investment can be mobilised, reports

Ian Lewis Ian Lewis

Africa’s energy sector is emerging blinking into the light after a tumultuous three years in which the impact of a global pandemic and an energy security crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hit the incomes of the poorest people, sent energy costs spiralling upwards and staunched investment

The good news is that a continent blessed with copious renewable energy resources – especially solar power – the global build-up of a new wave of

“Clean energy is moving fast – faster in the investment trends, where clean technologies are pulling away from fossil fuels,” International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said on launching the IEA’s World

“For every dollar invested in fossil tion of sub-Saharan Africa still has no

Growing Track Record

There is optimism that Africa’s huge renewable energy resources can make real inroads into overcoming the continent’s energy shortfall, as industrial supply chains recover after the

Crucially, parts of Africa are no longer pioneering territory for renew-

Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Senegal records are helping to de-risk more of

Support from multilateral development banks (MDBs) and developunderpins investment in many types of energy projects across much of Africa, is more evident in some parts of Africa

This is partly driven by the increasing sophistication of African-grown clean nesses, which provide ever-improving investment opportunities, as well as a growing network of African-based lenders, specialist funds and other to the momentum provided by DFIs, while consumers are too poor to pay

The hope is that falling costs will make

Platform For Growth

In the past, some governments regarded renewable energy development as an impediment to economic suspicious of what they regarded as efforts by developed countries to foist costly green technologies onto

Costs are now on a par with fossil fuels in many parts of Africa and it is becoming clearer how countries can leverage renewables potential to stimulate the wider economy, moving beyond just getting the lights, heating,

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that if Africa pursues an ambitious energy transition pathway, more than 12m transition-related new jobs could example is investment in solar, which is set to overtake the amount of investment going into oil production for the

As ever, Africa’s need to win a share of this global investment is pressing, given the urgent need to speed up considerable progress over the last two decades, there is still a long way

Another driver is the use of innovative international lending mechanisms, such as blended finance initiatives, from MDBs and DFIs are designed to provide a more secure platform for

Not everyone thinks that DFI fundstimulating private investment, especially in some poorer African countries, where solar power is struggling to scale ciency, electricity grids and energy of further jobs would then be created by the boost to the wider economy –the energy transition has the potential ment to large-scale solar and wind projects is to provide commercial surplus intermittent renewable power when it is not needed elsewhere, or to build renewable energy projects dedi- leader in this, building some of the continent’s largest solar farms to power hydrogen production fertiliser plants and other infrastructure in its industrial zones close to the Suez

At the other end of Africa, South Africa is plotting a similar course, but has the added task of completely revamping its power infrastructure as it seeks to reduce its over-depend- slower than renewable energy develslowing the roll-out of solar projects and that this is contributing to power shortages triggered by failures in the

The energy transition also presents wider opportunities for jobs and the the key minerals, such as cobalt, on which the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), phones

The attractions of developing EV and battery production on home soil, rather than just exporting raw materials without any added value, are obvi- will be forthcoming outside of Africa’s more developed economies remains

In one attempt to kick-start manufacturing, DRC and Zambia are hoping to develop EV and battery manufacture in special economic zones under an agreement with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the United Nations

Upstream Boost

African countries with upstream resources are also on the other side struggled to foot spiralling fuel bills during the hydrocarbons price hike triggered by the Ukraine war, African oil and gas exporters could sell their products for more and found potential investors eyeing their hydrocarbon

Namibia, so long an upstream backwater struggling to drum up interest in its upstream, has become an investment magnet for the majors, following and Senegal are set to join the hydrocarbon producers’ club in the coming

However, it is far from plain sailing for African oil and gas producers, as ment backers carefully review lending to the sector in light of green energy example, the future of Mozambican line from Uganda to the Tanzanian coast currently hang in the balance

Those countries with gas reserves now face the choice of how to maximthat means a focus on exports, while also using some of the gas for muchneeded domestic power generation

Here, sustainable development is the mantra, which means a measured approach to developing domestic gas usage to help economic growth alongside spending on renewable set to become a gas exporter from its offshore resources this year, while pushing to develop gas-feedstock based industries, such as ammonia production, as well as a green hydro- gen industry, powered by its abundant

Traditional Producers Remain Top Exporters

inces, such as Angola, are also beneto Russian oil and gas, though here the focus is more on getting the most out of developments close to existing

Nigeria is still vying with Angola and Algeria to be the continent’s lead-

In deepwater, Shell and TotalEnergies continue to develop their Bonga

Meanwhile, local companies are trying to rejuvenate production in the shallow waters around the Niger

Delta, now the majors have moved

The inauguration of Bola Tinubu as Nigeria’s president in May has raised hopes that the country’s foreign Tinubu is credited with facilitating said he will scrap fuel subsidies, which a revamp of the country’s energy

The challenges of the energy transition are substantial wherever you are in the world, and they are made all the more complex in Africa by poverty, lack of infrastructure and in this yearbook, there is no shortage of determination to make the clean energy revolution happen on the continent in a way that enhances economic