Wind turbines have remained a rare sight in Africa outside of a small handful of countries. However, this is not due to a lack of potential. According to a report released by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in 2020, continental Africa has an onshore wind potential of almost 180,000 TWh per year, which is enough to meet the continent’s electricity demands 250 times over.
The adoption of wind as a source of energy is projected to accelerate as the continent continues to seek ways to extend energy access.
Wherever the wind is blowing
Only Morocco, Egypt, and South Africa have succeeded in harnessing their wind potential and attracting private funding to build wind farms. According to the country’s IPP Office, South Africa has already commissioned 34 wind farms with a total installed capacity of over 3.3 GW under its widely praised Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) program.
And there’s still a long way to go. Under the REIPPP Bid Window 5 in 2021, the South African Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy announced 25 successful bidders, comprising 12 wind farms with a total capacity of 1,600 MW. These facilities’ project agreements are planned to be signed before the end of 2022.
In April 2022, the country also opened the REIPPP Bid Window 6, which will distribute a total capacity of 1,600 MW of wind, with projects ranging in size from 50 MW to 240 MW.
Morocco and Egypt, to the north, continue to lead the way in wind energy development. According to the Ministry of Energy, the country has over 1.5 GW of installed wind power capacity spread across 13 wind farms. It currently plans to commission another 2 GW of wind farms by 2025, totaling 14 in total.
Egypt, on the other hand, has witnessed fewer but larger initiatives. The current installed capacity of its four wind farms is 1.6 GW. Lekela Power commissioned the most recent one, West Bakr, in November 2021.
The importance of international finance and development
Multilateral and development finance institutions (DFIs) have played a vital role in supporting the growth of the wind sector across the continent.
With facilities in Cabo Verde (Cabeólica, 2011), Senegal (Taiba Ndiaye, 2019), and Mauritania (Taiba Ndiaye, 2019), West Africa is progressively harnessing its wind potential (Boulenouar, 2020).
The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) all lent their support to the initiatives (AFESD).
They’ve successfully built the groundwork for future endeavors. The US DFC, for example, granted funds for a feasibility study to expand Senegal’s 158.7 MW Taiba Ndiaye Wind Farm by another 100 MW in December 2021.
East Africa, led by Kenya, is also getting involved. The government completed the 310 MW Lake Turkana Wind Farm in 2017 and the 100 MW Kipeto Wind Farm in 2021, following the expansion of the Ngong facility in 2014.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) was the principal arranger for Lake Turkana’s debt package, and it was able to get funding from many key European DFIs. Kipeto, on the other hand, was mostly sponsored by the US DFC.
The AFC has moved east after its success in Cabo Verde, where it is the primary developer on Djibouti’s Red Sea Wind Power Project at Ghoubet. The 60 MW facility, which will be the country’s first independent electricity producer, is approaching completion (IPP).
An excellent option for reducing carbon emissions
Natural resources and extractive industries have recently given an additional driver for the deployment of wind energy in Africa. Wind is being considered by publicly traded oil and gas and mining firms wanting to decarbonize their portfolios and reduce carbon emissions throughout their activities.
Savannah Energy signed a deal with the Republic of Niger’s Ministry of Petroleum, Energy, and Renewable Energies in March 2022 to build the country’s first wind farm. Savannah Energy, which owns some of Niger’s most productive oil blocks, plans to build and manage the 250 MW facility in the Tahoua Region.
The wind farm will be organized as an independent power producer (IPP) and is now undergoing a feasibility assessment. It is planned to be approved in 2023, with a commissioning date of 2025.
Earlier this year, First Quantum Minerals (FQM) announced a new agreement with Chariot and Total Eren to create 430 MW of solar and wind energy for its mining operations in Zambia. In Zambia, the company manages Africa’s largest copper mine by production, and it aims to cut its carbon footprint by 30% by 2025.
Anglo American is partnering with EDF Renewables in South Africa on a much larger project. In March of this year, the two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the creation of a new regional renewable energy ecosystem (RREE).
By 2030, the program is expected to meet Anglo American’s operational electricity requirements in South Africa by supplying 100 percent renewable electricity. To power Anglo American’s operations, it plans to build a network of on-site and off-site solar and wind farms with storage capacity of up to 5 GW.
The potential of hydrogen
Moreover, the rise of Africa’s hydrogen industry will aid the growth of the continent’s wind industry.
The Chariot Energy Group and the Mauritanian Ministry of Petroleum, Mines, and Energy signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) last year to advance Project Nour, a possible green hydrogen development of up to 10 GW.
Project Nour has been granted exclusive rights to 14,400km2 of onshore and offshore land in Mauritania for pre-feasibility and feasibility studies to generate solar and wind power for electrolysis to split water and make green hydrogen and oxygen under the terms of the MoU.
In late 2021, the Namibian government granted a notice of award to HYPHEN Hydrogen Energy, a joint venture between Nicholas Holdings Limited and ENERTRAG South Africa (Pty) Ltd, to create the first gigawatt-scale green hydrogen plant in southern Africa.
According to Hyphen, the $9.4 billion scheme will be built within the Tsau/Khaeb National Park, which is one of the top five resource-rich areas in the world for co-located onshore wind and solar.
The entire development of the project aims to produce 300,000 metric tons of green hydrogen per year from 5GW of renewable power capacity and a 3GW electrolyser.
APO Group distributed on behalf of Green Energy Africa.
Melita Manser, Group Account Director, AOW at Ogilvy PR South Africa, +27 76 449 1271, Melita.Manser@ogilvy.co.za, Melita.Manser@ogilvy.co.za, Melita.Manser@ogilvy.co.za, Melita.Manser@ogilvy.co.za, Melita.Manser@o
Paul Sinclair is the Vice President of Energy and Director of Government Relations at Africa Oil Week and Green Energy Summit Africa. His phone number is +44 7825 311791, and his email address is paul.sinclair@hyve.group.
Green Energy Africa Summit is the global forum for promoting deals and transactions across the African energy industry, and it will take place in Cape Town on the 4-5 October 2022. Governments, national regulators, utility corporations, independent power producers, investors, financial institutions, and service providers will all be present at the event. The conference will facilitate deals and investments in energy projects, as well as provide energy access and solutions for the continent and help to define Africa’s future.