Masdar and PwC Middle East launch West African renewables report
Published by Theodore Reed-Martin,
Editorial Assistant
Energy Global,
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar and PwC Middle East have partnered to highlight the renewable energy potential of West Africa and the necessary reforms to increase private sector investment, with the new report Accelerating Renewable Energy Investment in West Africa.
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:
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/
You might also like
Unite responds to UK government’s Clean Energy Bonus scheme
Unite has welcomed the government’s Clean Energy Bonus scheme but warns the initiative is underfunded.