Off-grid power growth ‘to attract new business players’ to sub-Saharan Africa

The ‘Renewables 2017’ report said the growth will be “as a result of industrial applications, solar home systems (SHS’s) and mini-grids, boosted by government electrification infrastructure programmes and investments from the private sector”.

And the report said that while the growth “represents a small share of total photovoltaic (PV) capacity installed... its socio-economic impact is nonetheless significant”.

Over the next five years SHS’s, “the most dynamic sector in the off-grid segment”, will grow and “lead to new business players bringing innovative payment solutions that allow low-income populations initial access to electricity services”, the report said.

The IEA’s report tracked off-grid solar PV applications “more closely in developing SSA and Asia for the first time”.

The report underlined the findings of a World Bank study, published in 2016, which called for “all sources of investment to be encouraged” in SSA – particularly in the power sector. The bank’s study said: “Africa’s power sector needs far exceed most countries’ already stretched public finances, making it crucial for governments to attract greater levels of private investment to scale up generation capacity.”

“To reach the scale required, governments must provide a sound investment climate and enabling environment,” the study added.

Earlier this year, international investors announced the formation of a “joint power platform” to boost SSA’s energy generation sector and pave the way for $1 billion worth of funding for new power projects.

The initiative was launched by the UK’s development finance institution (CDC) with the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (Akfed) and Akfed’s industrial and infrastructure development arm, Industrial Promotion Services (IPS). CDC said the joint platform would house IPS’s existing power projects in Kenya and Uganda “and will focus on new power projects” in greater East Africa and West Africa.

According to the International Finance Corporation (140-page / 18 MB PDF), the potential for investments in clean energy infrastructure projects in the SSA region will be worth nearly $783 billion up to 2030. The Corporation singled out Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa’s as four ‘profile’ countries for clean energy investment potential in renewable energy generation, valued at $123bn, and buildings and transportation ($652bn).