Masdar and PwC Middle East launch West African renewables report

Launched ahead of COP28 at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, the report reaffirms the importance of advancing the renewable energy transition in West Africa to ensure adequate and affordable access to clean electricity and encourages policymakers to realize the investment required for the energy transition in the region.

Key findings from the report:

West Africa has an unexploited renewable capacity potential of 2000 GW.

West Africa’s energy sector demands renewal and decarbonisation.

Pro-investment policy coupled with renewable energy technologies could transform the sector and meet urgent social and economic needs.

Sovereign wealth funds could play a big part in driving investment to the region's renewable energy sector.

 

Despite West Africa’s potential renewable capacity, the region has one of the lowest electrification rates, according to a 2023 World Bank report. Approximately 220 million people in the region live without access to power, coupled with some of the highest electricity costs in sub-Saharan Africa.

The report highlights that addressing this paradox is essential for unlocking social and economic growth in West Africa, introducing ways to decouple market risks from regional risks, enabling major funding stakeholders to play a role in closing the energy access gap.

As the demand for energy services in Africa grows rapidly with rising population levels, addressing existing barriers to clean energy investment and promoting capital deployment across the continent is urgently needed. This will increase affordability and bridge the energy gap, stimulating economic growth and accelerating progress towards the global effort to keep global temperature rises below 1.5°C.

“If the African economy is to multiply its renewables capacity 40 times by 2050, as this report recommends, then we are in a race against time. We need to rapidly accelerate the flows of climate finance into the renewables space in Africa – bringing together public, private, and development capital to unlock the continent’s incredible potential,” said Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar.

 

 

For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

Energy Global's Autumn 2023 issue

The Autumn 2023 issue of Energy Global hosts an array of technical articles focusing on green hydrogen, wind installation technology, blade monitoring solutions, and more. This issue also features a regional report looking at some key renewables projects in Australia..

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/other-renewables/30112023/masdar-and-pwc-middle-launch-west-african-renewables-report/