Bolder strategies needed to plug renewable energy gaps

Renewable energy, and energy transition generally, is one of the pillars of the upcoming Africa Climate Summit's green growth agenda. It's not hard to see why.

Energy is a foundational sector and should be at the heart of Africa's development ambitions. And since energy, climate, and development issues intertwine, the world's focus is sharpening towards cleaner, sustainable technologies to combat the growing threat of climate change.

African countries, most of which face a confluence of challenges, including high inflation, unemployment, extreme climate events, and crippling debt crises, need bolder strategies to take advantage of renewable energy's socioeconomic opportunities.

Aside from delivering energy security and powering lasting growth, renewable energy can create up to five times more jobs than fossil fuels per dollar invested.

Africa is endowed with substantial untapped solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal energy potential, which, if developed, could be a game-changer.

Committing to a greener development pathway could get us out of the woods sooner through a stronger focus on demand creation and an investor-friendly business environment.

African economies should promote the productive use of electricity (commercial and industrial demand) by supporting economic activities focused on the global race to net zero.

If recent events of national blackouts are to go by, there's an urgent need to make the grid systems not only resilient to the effects of climate change, but also flexible enough to adjust in real-time to demand increases and to accommodate a diverse mix of green power.

Integrated energy solutions, enabled by smart power grids that combine the advantages of both centralised and decentralised approaches, could address an extended range of energy requirements across African societies.

Strengthening national grids and setting a clear action plan for the interconnection of regional power pools will allow borderless accessibility of supply areas to demand points where this green energy is needed the most.

The upcoming Africa Climate Summit presents a good platform for deliberations and commitments on decades-long discussions around critical pan-continental grid infrastructure projects that would link East, South, Central, and West African power pools.

To ensure adequate climate finance flows into the continent, creating a favourable environment for investors is a first step in derisking renewable energy investments.

The coming-of-age of renewables, in terms of technological maturity and increasingly favourable costs, should take Africa to energy security and reduce its dependency on more volatile sources.

The Africa Climate Summit should strive to install this bridge for the entire continent to make the crossing.

The writer is the vice chairperson of the Electricity Sector Association of Kenya (ESAK)