Wind and hydro energy investments will nearly double from the 2020 levels, according to the latest study by Wood Mackenzie, a global research and consultancy business, which provides data, analytics and insights on the natural resource industry.
Investments in the thermal power plants are expected to drastically fall, the study notes.
Africa, responsible for just 3% of global emissions, is seen as the most vulnerable region to climate change as evidenced by extreme weather conditions.
More than 35 African countries, Zimbabwe included, and well over 1000 major companies have committed to emissions cuts in line with the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, which seeks to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius and strive for a ceiling of 1.5 degrees by 2030.
Investments in solar energy would be driven by off grid standalone home systems, mini and huge solar plants.
“Due to the rapid decline in renewable energy costs and innovative business models, addressing this chasm of consumption and investment to provide universal, reliable, affordable and de-carbonised access to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa presents a massive and growing market opportunity within the energy transition,” says the study, adding renewables offers US$350 billion worth of investment opportunities.
Zimbabwe is targeting to produce 2 000 MW from renewable sources by 2030, a position the country also presented to the COP26 in Glasgow, United Kingdom, which is in line with its pledge to reduce greenhouse emissions by 2030.
Off-grid residential demand is being served by standalone solar home systems.
As of 2020, there were an estimated 370 million private solar home-system consumers and 250 000 private mini-grid consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa, the study says.
Wood Mackenzie analysis shows that Sub-Saharan Africa’s standalone solar segment has raised more than US$2.3 billion of corporate-level investment since year 2010, while the mini-grid sector has attracted US$800 million.
“If a universal electricity access scenario is achieved in Africa, both could account for over half of new connections.
“Off-grid electricity service provision — initially for residential customers beyond the grid through the pay-as-you-go business model — is becoming an enabling mechanism for a host of other goods and services that customers are willing to pay for, most of which require basic electricity service,” according to the Wood Mackenzie study.
