The lack of real political buy-in and commitment to renewable energy isn’t just keeping Africa in the dark, but is also dwarfing the continent’s economic growth. This is a sentiment shared by Josef Abramowitz, the CEO of American-owned solar and social development enterprise Gigawatt Global. The three-time Nobel Laureate says that despite their public and verbal commitment to renewable energy, many African heads of state have proved to be all talk and no action. “Every leader has said they like solar energy, but very few have really advanced it in a professional way to make the conditions conducive to energy investment,” says Abramowitz.
While developing countries could serve as an ideal environment for an energy renaissance – as opposed to developed countries, which have established coal plants and electrical systems – the continent’s still yet to light up its future. Renewable energy provides a cheaper and more sustainable solution for electrifying Africa, but there are still major challenges to using more environmentally and economically sustainable alternatives. According to McKinsey’s Brighter Africa Report, 70-80% of the continent could have access to electricity – approximately 1,2TW of power – through renewable sources such as gas, hydro, solar, wind and geothermal sources. Gas and solar are predicted to be the more popular choices, accounting for more than 25% of electricity generation.
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