Powering Africa: Unlocking Opportunities for Energy Development

Southern Africa faces a significant energy crisis, with 68% of SADC residents lacking electricity and a power mix heavily dependent on coal. The document argues that universal energy access (SDG 7) requires overcoming investment barriers through a combination of regional cooperation to manage hydropower via the Southern African Power Pool and the deployment of decentralized mini- and micro-grids in rural areas.

• Southern Africa is experiencing an energy crisis where 68% of residents in Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) member states lack electricity access. Investment in generation capacity to meet rising demand has been obstructed by poor project preparation, electricity tariffs that do not reflect costs, a lack of standardized power purchase agreements, and inadequate institutional, regulatory, and policy frameworks.
• The region's energy mix is currently dominated by coal, particularly in South Africa. To increase security, reliability, and access, there is an urgent need to diversify the power mix by utilizing renewable energy potential.
• Meeting Sustainable Development Goal 7 for universal energy access requires a dual approach: regional cooperation and integration (such as through the Southern African Power Pool) to manage climate-vulnerable hydropower resources, and decentralized solutions like micro- and mini-grids for rural areas where grid extension is not financially or technically viable.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2018). Powering Africa: Unlocking Opportunities for Energy Development. https://www.sei.org/publications/powering-africa-unlocking-opportunities-energy-development/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Powering Africa: Unlocking Opportunities for Energy Development. 2018. https://www.sei.org/publications/powering-africa-unlocking-opportunities-energy-development/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Powering Africa: Unlocking Opportunities for Energy Development |date=25 May 2018 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/powering-africa-unlocking-opportunities-energy-development/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2018powering, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Powering Africa: Unlocking Opportunities for Energy Development}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2018}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/powering-africa-unlocking-opportunities-energy-development/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }