Africa's Solar and Renewable Energy Revolution

In the US, the push is on to “drill, baby, drill”. In China, the national strategy is to “walk towards the light”. Two energy behemoths, two contrasting approaches to energy.

“Africa’s solar revolution is here,” said Sonia Dunlop, CEO of the Global Solar Council (GSC). “Growth is spreading to new markets across the continent, and rooftop and distributed systems are putting power directly into the hands of households and businesses.”

Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East had delivered “two major fossil fuel supply shocks in four years” that “exposed the brutal cost of energy dependence”, Dunlop noted. But cheap solar and improved battery storage had enabled the rapid replacement of fossil fuels with solar power across Africa, she said.

Across Africa, China has been involved in developing several renewable energy projects including hydroelectric, wind and solar. Among them is the 1.8GW Benban Solar Park in Aswan, Egypt, completed in 2019 and involving state-owned China Energy Engineering Corporation and TBEA, a green energy equipment manufacturer.

Ethiopia’s Adama I and II wind farms, with a combined capacity of 204 megawatts, were funded by the China Exim Bank and built by HydroChina and the CGCOC Group in 2015, which marked the start of the country’s journey towards tapping wind power potential of up to 1,300GW.

Together with the 5,150MW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the country is working towards complete reliance on green power supply and streets filled with electric cars.