“In 2019, the African Development Bank reported that an additional 96 million African households had gained access to electricity between 2015 and 2019,” and this trend has continued, notes The Doomslayer. “Northern African countries have nearly achieved universal access” to electricity.
Access is not close to universal in sub-Saharan Africa. Most people in West Africa do have access to electricity (85% in Ghana, 61% in Nigeria, 69% in Côte d’Ivoire, and 53% in Mali), as do most people in southern Africa (about half of all people in Zambia and Zimbabwe have access to electricity, as do most Namibians, South Africans, and Botswanans).
But many still lack electricity in East and Central Africa, although things are expected to improve in East Africa,”with big infrastructure projects taking shape across East Africa.”
In East Africa, only 5% of people in South Sudan and 10% of people in Burundi have electricity, but 76% of Kenyans and 55% of Ethiopians did, as of 2022.
In poor Central African countries like Chad, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, most people don’t have electricity. In 2022, only 12% of people in Chad, 16% of people in the Central African Republic, and 21% of people in the Congo had electricity. But those “countries are stepping up initiatives to overcome this energy poverty.”
Wealthier Central African nations like “Gabon and Equatorial Guinea have reached 90% electrification rate.” Some East African countries like “Rwanda and Kenya are targeting universal access for 2025-2030.”
Global Energy adds:
Today, the only African country using nuclear energy is South Africa, where two power units were built in the mid-1980s. Another such country will soon be Egypt. Which African countries may be on this list in the coming years?
– A third of the almost 30 countries currently considering nuclear power are in Africa. Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan have already engaged with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to assess their readiness to embark on a nuclear programme. Algeria, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia are also mulling the possibility of nuclear power….
Off-grid solar generation is also promoted in many African countries….Sub-Saharan African countries attracted 65% of the world’s off-grid renewable energy investments over 2007-2019, with investments concentrated especially in East Africa. Solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind power consolidated their dominance of the finance landscape in 2013-2018, attracting, respectively, 46% and 29% of global investments in renewables….
– In recent years, several large hydropower projects have been completed in Africa: in Nigeria, the Zungeru hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 700 MW was commissioned, and in Zambia, the Kafue Gorge Lower hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 750 MW was launched. Which other countries in the region have great potential for hydropower development?
Ethiopia has invested heavily in expanding its electric power grid to support the country’s growing economy and improve electricity access. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), with a capacity of 6,450 MW, is central to Ethiopia’s efforts. Today, Ethiopia is the leading net exporter of hydroelectricity in East Africa and has links with Djibouti, Sudan, Kenya and, soon, Somalia. In West Africa, Guinea, Nigeria and Ghana are the leading countries with large hydropower plants.
Currently, hydropower accounts for 17% of the electricity generation in Africa on average. In some countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia, the share of hydropower in electricity generation exceeds 80%. This share may potentially increase to more than 23% by 2040.
