Policy tracker: Renewables plan needs storage and grid

From the newsletter

Twelve African countries have set ambitious targets for near-universal electrification by 2030, according to the Renewables Rising policy tracker. Renewable energy is at the heart of these policies. Battery storage and grid infrastructure policies are missing, yet they are strong partners that must be developed in tandem.

• The World Bank and AfDB are providing financing to these twelve countries to accelerate their electrification goals through Mission 300, a project targeting to connect 300 million Africans to power by 2030. As part of the funding requirements, the selected countries are obligated to refine their policy frameworks.

• Alongside the Mission 300 countries, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa made policy changes. Both Rwanda and Kenya have set targets for universal electricity access by 2030.

More details

• The Renewables Rising policy tracker is built from our internal media monitoring process. This analysis is based on policy changes made from January 2025 to March.

• The selected countries for Mission 300 include some with the lowest electrification rates in Africa like Chad, DRC and Niger. Others include Côte d'Ivoire, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Liberia, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia, and Mauritania. These countries have developed national energy compacts, which are essentially voluntary commitments to develop their energy sector.

• Policy reform has been instrumental in countries such as Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, and South Africa. These countries reviewed their energy policies to allow private sector participation and incentivised renewable energy to make it more affordable. Though implementation wasn't perfect, progress was made, with South Africa seeing reduced load shedding as more consumers opted for self-power generation. It has also revised its net billing rules in 2025 to avoid cash compensation for excess solar energy exported to the grid by self-power generating customers.

• Nigeria plans to accelerate the pace of electricity access expansion from the current 5% annual growth to 9%, aiming for universal access by 2030. It also intends to increase the share of renewable energy in its generation mix from 22% to 50% by 2030. To close the utility revenue gap, 7 million meters are to be deployed and adoption of cost-reflective tariffs for all customers except for low consumers is to be effected.

• The DRC, on the other hand, relies heavily on hydropower, with its grid having over 95% renewables. It intends to maintain this and targets to double the generation capacity by 2030 and increase it fivefold by 2040.

• These two countries together account for roughly a quarter of Africa's 600 million people without access. Funding energy access for these populations will be costly, and their governments lack sufficient internal resources for financing. Collectively, they require over $69 billion in investments, with more than half expected from the private sector.

• Across all the countries' ambitions, funding gaps are a recurring challenge. Many countries have secured only a fraction of the necessary investments. The private sector is poised to play a crucial role in financing these ambitious targets, accounting for over 60% of the total funding. However, this reliance on private-sector financing is contingent on establishing a conducive investment environment. There is a need for stable regulatory frameworks and effective risk mitigation mechanisms.

• Translating these ambitious goals into tangible results will require not only attractive policies but also a clear implementation strategy. This includes strengthening institutional frameworks, developing a skilled workforce, and addressing logistical challenges.

Our take

• While these policies provide a clear roadmap for renewable energy targets, some countries are overlooking necessary grid infrastructure upgrades. This is an area requiring significant investment, given the high cost of transmission lines. Without addressing transmission and distribution losses, African power utilities will continue to suffer substantial financial losses.

• Furthermore, there is a lack of adequate battery energy storage policies. With increased variable power generation from solar and wind, energy storage is essential to mitigate intermittency. Otherwise, African grids will struggle to support sustainable economies. Industrial and commercial sectors require a stable power supply to reduce backup costs, which are predominantly derived from fossil fuels.

• South Africa's net-billing rules present a mixed picture. On the positive side, they ensure that the electricity distributor does not incur additional costs by paying the prosumer. However, this could have a negative impact. It might discourage widespread adoption of solar energy, or prosumers might opt for smaller-sized installations to ensure they do not generate more electricity than they can consume.