Browsing: International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

renewable energy fossil fuel Africa
  • Africa stands at crossroads, balancing harnessing of its vast fossil fuel resources against a global call to embrace renewable energy.
  • Across the continent, the deployment of renewable technologies is not happening as fast as needed to reach 2030 targets.
  • Innovation and policy resets to drive renewable energy transition in Africa are needed in the face of new oil finds.

The drive to embrace green energy in African economies poses a challenging dilemma: invest in emerging technologies or stick with the tried-and-tested approach of tapping into lucrative oil and gas reserves. Consider Tanzania, for example. Late last year, the country reaffirmed its commitment to oil exploration by announcing plans to further collaborate with Saudi Arabia to bolster its nascent energy sector in the wake of massive gas find.

During a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December 2024, Tanzania Deputy Minister of Energy, Judith Kapinga, noted that the East African …

Wave energy potential in Africa

Despite rising investments in renewables as the world moves to realize net-zero emissions by 2050, the contribution of Africa's wave energy remains very minimal. The Africa Climate Summit (ACS) was a pivotal platform to explore the potential of tapping oceans, one of Africa's biggest resources.

With the summit’s overarching theme, “Driving Green Growth & Climate Finance Solutions for Africa and the World," heightening the urgency to address the climate crisis; harnessing the potential of ocean water for clean energy could accelerate Africa’s journey to net-zero.…

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Botswana and Namibia to build a mega solar-power project - The Exchange

According to a report by the World Economic Forum on Africa, mega-solar projects – large-scale installations capable of producing upwards of hundreds of megawatts of power – are generating much-needed electricity in countries all over the world.

In sunny Southern Africa, however, the report says, a historic lack of public-private partnerships outside of South Africa and, until recently, Zambia, to develop such projects has left much of the region’s vast solar power potential largely untapped.

But Botswana and Namibia are poised to change this trend, the report says. The two neighbouring countries will be supported by the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Energy – which includes organizations such as the World Bank Group, International Finance Corporation (IFC), African Development Bank, Africa Renewable Energy Initiative, New Partnership for Africa’s Development, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the US government-led Power Africa initiative to realise this dream.

“This multi-phased …