Renewable energy has been steadily increasing in Africa over the last decade, thanks to numerous investments from local and international agencies.
However, South Africa’s growth has outpaced Nigeria’s in the last ten years, findings show.
The gap between Africa’s top two economies put Nigeria well ahead of South Africa back in 2012 and 2013.
But the latest data by International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), show that South Africa grew significantly by 916 percent to 10,193 megawatts (MW) capacity from 2012 to 2021.
A development that makes a mockery of Nigeria’s one percent growth in the same period.
In a telephone interview with Ayodele Oni, Partner, Energy Practice Group, Bloomfield LP, on what could be the factors crippling renewable growth in Nigeria.
He said: “Inadequate policies, lack of political commitment, lack of awareness about the current price competitiveness of renewable energy technologies (RETs), and financing hurdles are some of the factors hindering Nigeria’s RET growth.” In addition, the partner outlined some things the country could do to boost its renewable growth.
“Nigeria needs to mitigate risks to attract private investors by providing partial risk guarantees and increasing the role for concessional investments such as blended debt and grant instruments.
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“Offer technical assistance to national and regional institutions, regulators, and utilities to create an enabling environment and a harmonized regulatory framework,” Oni advised.
On the other side, analysis of the data shows that Africa accounts for 55,705MW of renewable energy capacity in 2021, up from 53,608MW in 2020, with South Africa (10,193MW), Egypt (6,226MW), and Ethiopia among the leading countries (4,759MW).
Despite global uncertainty, renewable energy has continued to grow and gain traction. According to the report, global renewable generation capacity will reach 3064 GW by the end of 2021, increasing the renewable energy stock by 9.1 percent.
Francesco La Camera, Director-General, IRENA, said that this progress is yet another example of renewable energy’s tenacity.
“Its strong performance last year means more opportunities for countries to reap the multiple socio-economic benefits of renewables.”
Renewable energy is being adopted at an unprecedented rate around the world, with solar power leading the way, and the shift to energy transition is a significant factor in the rise of renewables.
“Our current energy crisis adds to the evidence that the world can no longer rely on fossil fuels to meet its energy demand,” the IRENA Director-General said.
“Funding fossil-fuel power plants produce unsatisfactory results, both for the survival of a nation and the planet’s survival.
“Renewable energy should become the standard all over the world,” he said. “To accelerate the 1.5°C paths we need to mobilize political will.”
