Giant wind turbines churning in the wind are a rare sight in Africa — but that won’t be the case for long. Until now the meager amounts of investment in African wind energy have predominantly come from governments and foreign donors. But experts say this is changing fast. Private investors smell profit in beefing up … Continue reading Wind energy investors pivot to Africa →

Existing wind energy output in Africa remains dominated by north African countries, with south and east Africa poised to gain ground. Wind energy’s prospects in west Africa remain limited. This is one of the conclusions of a comprehensive study on the development of wind energy in Africa, by among others Dr Emelly Mutambatsere, principal regional … Continue reading Development of wind energy in Africa →

In each market where wind energy is being developed, the state is a big player in the initial stages of industry development; and is often the sponsor of pilot projects according to Dr Emelly Mutambatsere, Principal Regional Economist, African Development Bank. As co-author of a comprehensive study for the AdB on the Development of Wind … Continue reading African Development Bank Economist to Present Report on Continent →

Interview with Dr Emelly Mutambatsere, Principal Regional Economist, African Development Bank, and a speaker at the upcoming Clean Power Africa. You are the co-author of a comprehensive document on Africa’s wind energy market – can we start with a short summary of how it has evolved over the years? The harnessing of wind energy for … Continue reading Wind energy in Africa →

Last month the EWEA blog brought you the story of a small wind energy project in Tanzania and how it has helped to change the fortunes of some African farmers. Today, in this project update by Fran Witt from Renewable World, we look at how wind-powered electricity is connecting remote communities to the knowledge economy. … Continue reading Wind energy: empowering entrepreneurs in Africa →

Across the world 44,000 MW of new wind capacity was installed during 2012, taking total global capacity to over 280,000 MW. China alone installed some 13,000 MW of wind capacity in 2012, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). At the moment China is the world leader in terms of installed wind capacity with … Continue reading Only 100 MW of wind energy installed in Africa in 2012 →

Did you know that 1.3 billion people in the world have no electricity? That’s the same as the entire population of the EU (500 million) twice over and the US (300 million) combined. While wind energy in Europe is providing energy solutions on a large scale, in some of the world’s poorest zones the opposite … Continue reading Powering Africa out of poverty →