Africa's Green Energy Gets EU Boost

Access to clean, renewable energy remains one of Africa’s biggest challenges, amid reports that up to 600 million people still lack access to reliable electricity.

Yet, Africa has significant potential for renewable energy that can help the continent transition from unclean energy sources like biomass to renewable energy. This transition could shape Africa’s future development, regional stability, and progress amid climate change.

China is already increasing its energy investments in renewable projects in Africa. Solar and wind power now account for 59 percent of China’s energy projects across Africa, according to experts. Earlier this year, ODI Global, a UK-based think tank, reported that one-fifth of China’s overall energy sector and a fifth of renewable energy investment and construction activities had taken place in Africa, amounting to billions of dollars between 2010 and 2024.

“Between 2010 and 2021, Chinese financial institutions provided an average of $18 billion annually in global energy lending, while Chinese firms invested over $33 billion annually in the sector and secured $57 billion in construction contracts per year… Today, China is the world’s leading exporter of clean technologies—including solar panels, wind turbines, and lithium-ion batteries—with growing exports to emerging markets,” reads part of the report.

Africa is a key market for Chinese solar and wind technologies, with exports rising by 153 percent from 2020 to 2024. While China continued to expand its investments in Africa’s clean energy, in September this year, the European Union unveiled a €545 million package to accelerate the continent's clean energy transition.

The package is part of the EU’s Scaling Up Renewables in Africa campaign. This campaign aims to raise global awareness and mobilize public and private investments for clean energy generation and access across Africa.

“The choices Africa makes today are shaping the future of the entire world. A clean energy transition on the continent will create jobs, stability, growth, and the delivery of our global climate goals. The European Union, with the Global Gateway investment plan, is fully committed to supporting Africa on its clean energy path,” says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Investing now in solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal power, the EU says, is not just a moral and development imperative; it is also a strategic choice that strengthens supply chains, creates up to 38 million green jobs by 2030, and makes energy systems more resilient. Through the Global Gateway investment strategy, the European Union is helping accelerate this transition, delivering major investments in generation, transmission, and cross-border electricity trade, while building stable international partnerships.

The €545 million package expands the EU’s clean energy efforts in Africa, with new projects supporting electrification, modernizing power grids, and improving access to renewable energy.

Some of the projects announced include €359.4 million for a high-voltage transmission line in Côte d’Ivoire to boost regional energy distribution and €59.1 million for rural electrification for 687 communities, reaching more than 2.5 million people in Cameroon.

The Republic of Congo will receive €3.5 million to expand access to renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, and hydropower, while Lesotho will receive €25.9 million to unlock wind and hydropower through the Renewable Lesotho program. Ghana will receive €2 million to lay the groundwork for a large-scale solar park and regional energy trade.

Other countries in Africa that will also benefit from this fund include Madagascar, which will receive € 33.2 million to expand electrification through mini-grids in rural areas. Mozambique will receive €13 million to support a low-emission energy transition and encourage private-sector involvement, and Somalia will receive €45.5 million to increase access to affordable renewable energy, advance circular-economy practices, and build climate-resilient agri-food systems.

The Scaling Up Renewables in Africa campaign is carried out with the international advocacy organization Global Citizen and relies on the policy support of the International Energy Agency. It aims to drive new commitments on policy and finance from governments, financial institutions, the private sector, and philanthropists. They are encouraged to pledge capital or provide support such as expertise and technical assistance.

“The campaign will conclude with a high-level event around the G20 summit in South Africa, on 22-23 November 2025,” the EU Commission says.

However, a recent report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that investment in clean energy in Africa is rising but remains well below the levels needed to close the access gap.

“Insufficient capital is a key obstacle to expanding electricity access for the roughly 600 million people in Africa who currently live without it, according to a new IEA report that outlines essential tools to unlock greater investment and eliminate the access gap,” the report says.

The report, Financing Electricity Access in Africa, published in October this year, finds that with progress on expanding electricity access in Africa stalling $150 billion in investment is needed to deliver universal access within the next decade, or about $15 billion per year. According to new IEA tracking, less than $2.5 billion was committed for new electricity access connections in sub-Saharan Africa in 2023, the most recent year for which complete data is available. While that is a quarter more than was committed in 2019, it still lags far behind what would be required to provide universal access by 2035.

“More than 70 percent of the investment committed in 2023 came from international public finance, while the private sector contributed less than 30 percent. In a scenario that reaches universal access in sub-Saharan Africa by 2035, overall investment is much higher, and 45 percent of it would need to come from private investment," the report adds.

To achieve this, the report recommends a series of targeted regulatory changes, as well as incorporating electrification strategies into national planning and rural development programs.

However, it remains to be seen whether the recent investments in Africa’s renewables by China and the EU will result in universal access to clean energy on the continent.