Powering the clean energy transition in Africa
Overview
Africa has some of the largest untapped potential for hydropower development in the world. Sustainable hydropower presents an opportunity for economic development, the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and resilience to climate change. Hydropower’s flexibility means that it can also enable the deployment of other renewables such as wind and solar PV.
Africa faces many challenges in developing its infrastructure potential. For hydropower specifically, these include access to finance, grid infrastructure, climate change, and government, regulators and businesses’ internal capacity to enable and develop projects.
Yet hydropower continues to be developed, with many gigawatts of projects due to commission through the mid 2020s. This session will explore how to overcome the considerable barriers and maintain momentum in unlocking sustainable hydropower’s potential in Africa.
Speakers:
- Anton-Louis Olivier, CEO, Serengeti Energy (Moderator)
- Carlos Yum, Managing Director, GMNK
- João Cunha, Head of Division, Renewable Energy, African Development Bank (AfDB)
- Yang Guang, Deputy Director of Hydropower, PowerChina International Group Ltd
Session objectives
- Highlight the challenges and opportunities for hydropower in the region with recommended ways forward
- To help governments, private investors, funding parties and in-country procuring entities gain a better understanding of key bankability issues
- Discuss Africa’s options of using different combinations of energy systems, including grid and off-grid systems at the local, national and regional levels to meet the growing energy demand
- Highlight the role that hydropower can play in delivering climate resilience in Africa through making the best use of multi-purpose dam infrastructure
- Promote a better understanding of the wider development potential of hydropower, including access to electricity, jobs and wider sustainable infrastructure
Speakers
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