SEPTEMBER 9, 2019 By TOTOOLA TAIWO, 18 || Founder Solarwide.com.ng
Did you know that over 640 million Africans still lack access to electricity? Electricity in
Africa is in a very sorry state. In many African countries on the continent, less than 20% of the population has access to electricity; the situation is much worse in rural areas where fewer than 5% are connected to the grid. To fight darkness, up to 80% of Africans depend on personal generators, candles, and lamps to provide a basic lighting. Without a doubt, the lack of electricity is also a major cause of slow economic development in Africa countries.
With the current status of electricity, Africa is far from being on track to achieving SDG 7
targets. While a few countries, including Ethiopia and Kenya, are presently on a trajectory towards universal access to electricity. Access to clean-cooking solutions are even less
promising, with the number of people without access to clean-cooking solutions expected
to increase to 900 million, 820 million of whom will rely primarily on biomass for cooking in
2030 (IEA, 2017a). Is Renewable Energy liable to get Africans On-Grid? The current status of
renewable electricity shows that the total installed capacity exceeded 38 GW in 2016 (about
23 percent of total electricity capacity), driven mainly by developments in wind, solar PV,
geothermal and large hydropower in South Africa, Morocco, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
The share of renewable energy in the total energy consumption in Africa decreased slightly
between 1990 and 2012, from 60.2 percent in 1990 to 57.5 percent in 2010, and 56.5 per
cent in 2012; it peaked at 62.4 percent in 1994. With the hope of Renewable electricity to
get most Africans on-grid and to achieve the SDG7, All African countries have included
renewable energy actions covering all technologies and end-use applications under the
"Paris Agreement on climate change" as commitments to also tackle climate change.
Some prior considerations still need to be taken into action to guarantee "Renewables
Future" despite the Paris agreement on climate change in Africa;
1. Develop in-country human and institutional capacities for energy planning and management and greater engagement with the private sector.
2. Accelerate efforts to encourage innovation in energy services and promote collaborative research and development at the regional level.
3. Systematically prioritize energy efficiency across all sectors and capitalize on quick wins in energy efficiency in cities, industries, buildings, and transportation,
recognizing that energy efficiency gains enhance access.
4. Creation of Initiatives to train more individuals on different renewable installations
(solar, wind and hydro specifically).

To ensure the attainment of SDG 7 in Africa by 2030, investments of approximately
US$ 34.2 billion per year are needed, only if the Africa government can invest such
will it be possible