Yemisi Izuora
The Africa Development Bank says that under its new deal with Energy for Africa, it would be investing $12 billion in energy in the next five years and leveraging $45-50 billion from the private sector and other partners.
The goal according to the bank is to connect 130 million households via the grid, 75 million people via off-grid and provide some 130 million households with access to clean cooking energy.
This revelation came during the gathering of African energy leaders at the launch of the Africa Progress Panel Report: Lights, Power, Action: Electrifying Africa.
Speaking at the event in Cote d’voire president of the Bank, Akinwumi Adesina observed that the electricity deficit in Africa is immense, adding, “Today, 645 million people do not have access to electricity,”.
He continued: “Yet the continent has an abundant supply of solar, hydropower, wind and geothermal potential, as well as significant amounts of natural gas and in some countries coal deposits. Africa has energy potential, yes, but we need to unlock that potential. And we must do so quickly because Africans are tired of being in the dark.”
Addressing delegates, Adesina said he drew inspiration from the Panel’s previous report in developing the Bank’s High 5 development priorities, which places energy as the top priority, and which has, through the Bank’s New Deal on Energy for Africa, committed to investing $12 billion in energy in the next five years and leveraging $45-50 billion from the private sector and other partners.
The AfDB President commended the Africa Progress Panel for another very insightful report which, he said, will help Africa think through how to achieve the off-grid electricity revolution, as part of the comprehensive New Deal on Energy for Africa.
The progressing report indicates that more than 620 million Africans without access to electricity cannot wait for grid expansion.
While grid-connected megaprojects such as large dams and power pools are essential to scaling up national and regional energy generation and transmission, they are slow and expensive.
The report, therefore, suggests that governments must also increase investment in off-grid and mini-grid solutions, which are cheaper and quicker to install.
“What we are advocating is for African governments to harness every available option, in as cost-effective and technologically efficient a manner as possible, so that everyone is included and no one is left behind,” former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, stated.
Of the 315 million people who will gain access to electricity in Africa’s rural areas by 2040, it is estimated that only 30 percent will be connected to national grids. Most will be powered by off-grid household or mini-grid systems.
Lights, Power, Action is an in-depth follow-up to the influential 2015 Africa Progress Report, Power, People, Planet: Seizing Africa’s Energy and Climate Opportunities.
It urges governments to put in place the incentives needed to encourage greater investment in off-grid and mini-grid systems, protect consumers, and facilitate demand among disadvantaged groups.
“Traditional approaches to extending the grid are no longer viable as the main option for African countries,” Annan said.
“They will take too long and will not meet the needs of our growing economies and societies. Instead, governments and their partners need to seize the opportunity to re-imagine their energy futures,” he concluded.