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untapping Africa's Enormous wind power potential

GWEC-AFRICA

 

Construction of a wind turbine in Ngong Hills, Kenya © Construction Review Online

About

Africa WindPower is the Global Wind Energy Council’s initiative to accelerate the deployment of wind power in the African continent. AWP is an Africa-based organisation, focused on the promotion of zero carbon, cost competitive, wind energy across the African Continent, with the ability to draw upon the expertise and knowledge of the global wind energy industry.

 

AWP combines the expertise and knowledge of the global wind industry with ‘on the ground’ experience and know-how in the region, working closely with the companies and organisations that make up GWEC’s Africa Task Force.

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Our Mission

Africa WindPower’s mission is to create a bridge between government stakeholders including energy ministries, national utilities and regulators, project developers, other companies in the wind sector, along with the financial community to drive the uptake of wind energy across Africa as a key source of clean, affordable energy generation, economic growth and solution to climate change.

 

We believe that the time for a dramatic expansion of wind energy in Africa has come. To make this a reality, we are working with developers with viable projects across Africa and with government stakeholders to develop a more effective and efficient enabling environment for wind energy, that will lead  to the growth of a pipeline of utility-scale wind projects in Africa over the long term .

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GET.Invest

GET.invest is a European programme which supports investments in decentralised renewable energy. The programme targets private sector business and project developers, financiers and regulators to build sustainable energy markets.

Services include market information, a funding database, matchmaking events and access-to-finance advisory. They are delivered globally and across different market segments. The programme is supported by the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Austria, and works closely with initiatives and business associations in the energy sector.

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Africa Task Force

Africa WindPower was created by GWEC to address a clear need for a regional body to offer a platform for dialogue between Africa’s wind industry, with a focus on developers and government stakeholders, with the ultimate goal of scaling up and accelerating wind project development and deployment.

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Why WindPower In Africa?

  • Africa has begun its transition to a clean energy future, but this process is moving far too slowly with incumbent fossil fuels playing too prominent a role
  • With immense resource across the continent, wind is a crucial solution to combat climate change, and address energy access(SDG7) in Africa.
  • Right now, wind energy is an affordable, reliable and efficient source of clean energy ready to be integrated into energy systems as a ‘firm’ resource
  • Wind energy is a natural complement to other leading forms of clean energy in Africa, such as hydropower and solar, playing a proactive role in balancing the grid
  • Across the world, wind is now one of the most cost competitive energy sources and Africa has just embarked on this cost reduction trajectory
  • Wind energy offers energy security and independence, sheltering consumers from the volatile prices of energy imports
  • Wind energy can be a pillar of sustainable economic growth, through the development of a local industry, creating jobs and sustainable, competitive economies underpinned by clean energy
  • The Time for Wind in Africa has come – as a ‘mainstream’ energy technology in other parts of the world, it is time for wind to be embraced by countries across the African continent
  • Wangari

    "Africa has the opportunity to leapfrog traditional fossil-fuel based energy systems to achieve a robust renewable energy mix. Wind Power is a vital part of this clean energy transition allowing for decentralized, affordable and clean energy. In addition, Africa boasts fantastic wind resource which can power the continent 250 times over while creating jobs and enabling the development of local industries. GWEC's Africa WindPower will bring various stakeholders together to decrease the knowledge gap and increase the development and deployment of wind power throughout the continent."

    Wangari Muchiri

    Director - Africa WindPower, GWEC

  • Ben Backwell

    "Africa has already begun its transition to a clean energy future, but this process is moving far too slowly with incumbent fossil fuels playing too prominent a role. Countries across the continent have the crucial ingredients to develop thriving local wind industries, which would bring significant jobs and economic growth to diverse communities. Despite what we are hearing on the world stage ahead of COP26, it is not only 'Climate Finance' but greater collaboration between the private and public sectors that will drive Africa's energy transition and increase access to reliable sources of electricity."

    Ben Backwell

    CEO, GWEC

Our Approach

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    Act as a conduit for confidential feedback and intelligence from the developer community and other wind industry participants such as manufacturers and technical consultants 
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    Prioritise markets based on the presence of favourable conditions and developer activity
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    Identify key barriers to project development, including impediments to reaching timely financial close, with the ultimate goal of adding a larger supply of affordable wind power to the grid
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    Promote the addition of power capacity across Africa as a matter of urgency, given significant segments of the population are without access to reliable and affordable electricity

 

Africa Wind Power Works With

 

Public Sector Stakeholders

Public Sector Stakeholders act as the voice of Africa’s wind industry.

 

This includes:

 

  • Developers
  • Owners & operators
  • Investors and bankers
  • Equipment suppliers and independent engineers

 

Government Stakeholders

Government Stakeholders are key partners in the development of Africa’s wind industry.

 

This includes: 

  • Energy Ministries
  • National Utilities
  • Regulators
  • System Operators

 

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Download the Africa Wind Energy Handbook

Other Resources

 

The Status Of Wind In Africa

The Status Of Wind In Africa” report is the first edition of its kind to take stock of Africa’s wind power footprint and the pipeline ahead across the Continent.

 

By Africa, for Africa – Working with industry and governments, we can create an environment that fosters innovation, investment and the development of a robust wind energy market across the Continent. This approach is essential, to provide policymakers with information to build on to meet the growing global demand for clean energy and make a significant positive impact on both the energy transition and environmental goals.

 

Key Points 

  • This first edition report takes stock of Africa’s wind power footprint across the Continent, with a current total of 83 installed wind farms identified in the study, adding up to 9GW
  • The report identifies 140 projects planned across Africa representing a pipeline of 86GW of new installed capacity. Africa’s current installed and planned wind energy capacity is still only tapping into 0.2% of the Continent’s total technical potential capacity of 33642 GW
  • Wind is already contributing significantly to national grids as a mainstream technology, contributing 17% of Kenya’s total generation and 15% of Senegal’s
  • Case studies in the report demonstrate socioeconomic and technical benefits of wind energy, from job creation, to grid stabilisation and complementarity with incumbent technologies like hydropower and new ones such as solar. Wind energy is poised to ramp up its growth in Africa through additional drivers such as cross-border trading via regional power pools, production of green hydrogen and its derivatives, e-mobility and repowering
  • An acceleration of wind deployment is crucial for achieving Africa’s: energy access and electrification goals, green growth and industrialisation ambitions, and 300GW by 2030 target as stated in the Nairobi Declaration
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Contacts

Wangari

Wangari Muchiri

Director, Africa WindPower
  • ph_mail-bold

    wangari.muchiri@gwec.net

Heba Rabie

Heba Rabie

Director, MENA
  • ph_mail-bold

    heba.rabie@gwec.net