Africa could source 22% of energy, 50% of power from renewables by 2030

Renewable sources could help meet about 22% of Africa’s total final energy needs and 50% of its power consumption by 2030, according to a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

When it comes to Africa’s energy mix, such a share would mean a more than four-fold rise from just 5% in 2013, while for power generation it would be an increase from 17% as of the same year.

The Africa 2030 study identifies 14 actions that will help speed up the uptake of renewables, including the launch of policies to attract sector investments. All in all, an average of USD 70 billion (EUR 62.3bn) of annual investments will be required between 2015 and 2030 so that Africa’s power sector is transformed, IRENA says. The total sum includes around USD 25 billion for transmission and distribution infrastructure.

The desired transformation will be marked by the expansion of the continent’s wind and hydropower generation capacity to 100 GW each. At the same time, its solar power capacity could reach 70 GW, including concentrating solar power (CSP) plants that will have a huge role specifically in North Africa.

Biomass for cooking is also among the key modern renewable energy technologies identified by IRENA. The report shows that shifting to modern renewable energy cooking solutions would lower the use of traditional stoves by over 60%. This, in turn, will reduce the health impacts of indoor air pollution thereby cutting certain external costs by between USD 20 billion and USD 30 billion per year by 2030.

“The onus is now on Africa’s governments to create conditions to accelerate deployment, paving the way for Africa’s unfettered, sustainable development,” said Adnan Amin, IRENA’s director-general.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.890)

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