The Future of Africa’s Energy Supply. Potentials and Development Options for Renewable Energy

Abstract

This study was conducted by the Plattform Energiewende at the Institute for Advanced Sustainabilty Studies on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The report represents an input to discussions following the Leaders’ Declaration issued at the G7 Summit held on June 7/8, 2015 in Elmau “to accelerate access to renewable energy in Africa and developing countries in other regions with a view to reducing energy poverty and mobilizing substantial financial resources from private investors, development finance institutions and multilateral development banks by 2020 building on existing work and initiatives”. More specifically, the G7 declaration formulates the objectives to reach up to 10 GW of additional installed renewables capacity by 2020 in Africa and “to improve sustainable energy access in Africa by 2030 by accelerating the deployment of renewable energy”. It thereby supports corresponding goals of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative, launched by the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN). This report provides an analysis of available literature and data on the development of renewable energy in Africa and suggests policy options for achieving the objectives supported by the G7 declaration.