The United Nations (UN) is liaising with the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to provide Africa with the requisite technical and financial support to enhance accelerated renewable energy development.
The collaboration is to complement efforts for the realisation of the World Bank’s Mission 300, which seeks to catalyse decisive action and drive sustainable energy solutions on the continent by 2030.
“Programmes like Mission 300, supported by US$48 billion in concessional funding, demonstrate the power of public-private partnerships to electrify 300 million Africans,” Ms Damilola Ogunbiyi, the Chief Executive Officer and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, said.
She was addressing the Seventh Meeting of the ISA Regional Committee for the Africa Region, in Accra, a three-day programme that seeks to highlight the continent’s decentralised solar opportunity in the context of underinvestment and energy gaps.
The UN Special Representative described the Mission as a unique initiative bringing together African governments, the private sector and development partners to deliver affordable power, expand electricity access and boost utility efficiency.
Consequently, there was the need to take its implementation seriously to attract private investment and improve regional energy integration that facilitated economic transformation, she noted.
Ms Ogunbiyi, who is also the Co-Chair of UN Energy, said renewable energy such as solar, offered the people with the fastest, least-cost path to reach the underserved communities.
“Africa must invest in Africa. Sovereign wealth institutes, pension funds, and local banks hold the capital to fund distributed renewable energy projects.
“Governments must streamline licenses and unlock tariffs to scale private sector participation,” she said.
The International Solar Alliance has observed that the continent stands at the intersection of vast renewable energy potential and urgent development needs.
However, despite possessing some of the world’s most abundant solar resources, Africa attracts less than three per cent of global solar investments, a chronic underinvestment that slows the pace of electrification.
The situation, according to the Alliance, has left more than 600 million people on the continent without access to electricity, which threatens the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Seven.
The Goal advocates universal energy access by 2030, a target most African countries are projected to miss due to weak institutional policy frameworks, as well as funding and capacity-building to address renewable energy needs.
Mr Ashish Khanna, the Director General of ISA, said with the rising fossil fuel costs and increasing geopolitical instability, solar energy was now viewed not just as an environmental imperative but a strategic economic priority.
It was against that background that Africa had been chosen as the launch region for the Global Solar Facility’s first regional investment, he hinted.
The DG pointed out that the Africa Solar Facility (ASF), with a target of US$200 million, was being launched to offer flexible, cost-effective, and impactful financial solutions to catalyse solar projects across the continent.
He said the ISA had engaged Africa50, co-owned by 32 countries, as its investment manger for the ASF.
Mr Seth Terkper, Ghana’s former Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, urged participants to strive to work on practical solutions for financing, skills development, digital innovation, and integrating artificial intelligence into energy systems.
On financing, he advocated sustained efforts to address the energy investment gap, noting that, currently, Africa required about US$90 billion annually to achieve universal energy access by 2030.
The meeting was on the theme: “Catalysing Solar Investments and Institutional Capacity Across the Continent”.
The agenda aimed at building a strong political and investor consensus around the Africa Solar Facility, exchange ideas, network, and contribute to the advancement of solar energy.
Founded by India and France, ISA is a global platform advancing solar energy to improve energy access and security, with a mission to mobilise $1 trillion in solar investments by 2030.
Source: GNA
Source: ghanabusinessnews.com
