RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH: INSIGHTS FROM AFRICA

Africa possesses vast untapped renewable energy resources and critical minerals but faces significant barriers in financing, technology ownership, and value chain integration. While some progress has been made in solar, wind, and hydropower, the continent remains heavily reliant on imports for technology and patents. The document argues for strengthened partnerships, increased climate finance from the Global North, and the development of local manufacturing to ensure a just energy transition.

• Africa has immense untapped renewable energy potential, hosting 60% of global solar resources while exploiting less than 1% of that potential. Additionally, 89% of the continent's hydropower potential remains unused.
• The continent faces a severe energy access crisis; as of 2021, approximately 600 million people lacked electricity and 970 million lacked clean cooking energy, with these numbers projected to increase by 2030.
• Africa is a critical supplier of minerals for the global energy transition, holding 40% of global critical mineral reserves, including 90% of platinum group metal reserves in South Africa and over 70% of global cobalt production in the DRC.
• There is a significant gap in technology ownership and innovation, with Africa contributing less than 1% of total global clean energy patent applications, while four countries (US, Japan, Germany, and China) hold 75% of renewable energy patents.
• Africa is largely integrated into green value chains only as a supplier of raw materials, lacking significant presence in design and manufacturing, which leads to a high reliance on imported technologies.
• Financing for renewable energy is critically insufficient; Africa accounted for only 0.6% of global renewable energy investment in 2021, and it requires $557 billion by 2030 to address energy gaps.
• The electric mobility sector in Africa is in its early stages, with fewer than 3,000 electric vehicles in circulation by 2021, hindered by high ownership costs and a lack of local manufacturing for batteries and parts.

APA

NJOGU, H., & NYAWARE, B. (2024). RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH: INSIGHTS FROM AFRICA. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SAIIA_PB_299_RenewableTechnologies.pdf

Chicago

NJOGU, HUMPHREY, and BRIAN NYAWARE. RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH: INSIGHTS FROM AFRICA. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2024. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SAIIA_PB_299_RenewableTechnologies.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=NJOGU |first1=HUMPHREY |last2=NYAWARE |first2=BRIAN |title=RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH: INSIGHTS FROM AFRICA |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=July 2024 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SAIIA_PB_299_RenewableTechnologies.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{njogu2024renewable, author = {NJOGU, HUMPHREY and NYAWARE, BRIAN}, title = {{RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH: INSIGHTS FROM AFRICA}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SAIIA_PB_299_RenewableTechnologies.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }