Renewable Energy Programme
Africa possesses vast, untapped renewable energy potential. This includes hydropower potential, which is mostly spread across Central and Eastern Africa, and wind energy potential, located mostly in Northern and Southern Africa. These resources offer a vital opportunity to bridge the continent's rising energy demand that is driven by population growth, industrialization, rapid urbanization, and the impacts of climate change.
Flagship Projects on Renewable Energy
Anchored on Africa’s development blueprint: Agenda 2063, the African Union is implementing several initiatives geared towards promoting the uptake of renewable energy resources in the continent. Through the African Single Energy Market (AfSEM) and Continental power system Master Plan (CMP) initiatives, the installed capacity of wind power is expected to grow from about 9GW currently to close to 350 GW in 2040, with hydropower growing almost threefold to reach 120GW.
Similarly, under the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) the African Heads of State and Government set an ambitious goal to increase the continent’s renewable energy generation capacity from 56 GW in 2022 to at least 300 GW by 2030. Further, the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) drives regional infrastructure growth, aiming to deploy 54 GW of hydropower by 2040 to unlock the continent's full potential. Together projects complement the realization of energy development goals of the continent and the transition goals under the African Energy Transition Programme
About the Renewable Energy Programme
The AFREC-led Renewable Energy Programme seeks to catalyze the development of wind and hydropower projects in Africa through policy reform, early project development, local capacity building, investment mobilization, and regional cooperation, thereby supporting the implementation of continental flagship energy projects. The specific objectives include:
- Strengthening policy and regulatory frameworks to enable wind and hydropower investment in African Union Member States.
- Developing a skilled local workforce and technical capacity for the wind and hydropower sector in Africa.
- Mobilizing public and private investment through derisking mechanisms and early project development.
- Improve data infrastructure and reporting through continental scale wind and hydropower resource mapping and data sharing.
- Supporting local value chains for turbine components—such as towers, blades, nacelles, and generators.
The programme was developed in response to a call from the African Ministers meeting in the 4th Ordinary Session of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Transport, Transcontinental and Interregional Infrastructure, and Energy in September 2023 in Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania, which mandated AFREC to develop a Renewable Energy Programme and support African Union (AU) Member States in developing wind and hydropower projects.
