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Abstract African countries are in a unique position to reap the socio-economic and environmental benefits of renewable resources as a means for meeting increasing energy demand in a sustainable way. A critical obstacle for the deployment of renewable energy technologies in Africa is the difficulty of attracting sufficient and affordable finance. This paper compares the impact of financial conditions on the cost of electricity generation across six renewable and three fossil-based technologies in 46 African countries. The results show large cost variations and highlight the extent to which renewables are disadvantaged by current financial practices. The energy-economy-environment model TIAM-ECN is used to show how lowering financing costs results in a much higher deployment of renewables. For example, solar PV could account for 10–15% of total electricity generation by 2050, even without explicit climate policy, thanks to financial de-risking programmes. The results demonstrate that changes in financing schemes could outweigh the impact of technology learning. This paper also demonstrates that, once ambitious climate policies are in place, reducing financing costs for renewables could be an efficient way to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Financial de-risking is thus a key ingredient for unlocking the renewable energy potential in Africa. Highlights • We show how renewables are disadvantaged by today's financial practices in Africa. • We show how lower financing costs result in a higher deployment of renewables. • PV can account for 10–15% of electricity generation by 2050 without climate policy. • Changes in financing schemes could outweigh the impact of technology learning. • Financial de-risking is key for unlocking the renewable energy potential in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The potential of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) in the context of the political, economic, social, technical and environmental (PESTLE) framework in Africa. • The prospect of dual use of building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) in Africa. • Implementing appropriate energy policy and financing schemes in African cities. • Promoting a sustainable path for cost effective recycling and reuse of end-of-life PV in African cities. Power outage is a regular occurrence in most African cities due to increasing energy demand from population growth and commercial activities outstripping the grid capacity. This results in disruption to normal life putting stress on businesses and affecting development across the continent. This review paper investigates the potential of solar photovoltaic (PV) in African cities from three perspectives. Firstly, the potential of rooftop PV in the context of the political, economic, social, technical, legal and environmental aspects (PESTLE) is evaluated. Thereafter, sustainable waste management of solar PV panels is reviewed in anticipation for the upcoming wave of end-of life solar panels. Finally, the prospect of dual use building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) as power generators and building components is investigated from case studies in Africa. Most studies highlight the strong potential of rooftop PV and BIPV due to the availability of high radiance in the continent. However, our review shows that affordability and lack of investment acts as a significant barrier to mass adoption of this technology which could be remedied by implementing appropriate energy policy and financing schemes. Alternative financing of PV products and service solutions such as leasing, pay monthly, pay-as-you-go, and subscriptions are emerging as popular options, and these approaches seem to act as drivers to market expansion. The review also emphasizes on the need for effective and sustainable waste management of solar PV products through implementing appropriately designed recycling schemes. This will need to be adopted now to ensure success and to prevent a waste management crisis in the future for the African continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the nexus between greenhouse gas, financial development, energy consumption, trade and urbanization in 34 upper middle income countries from Asia, Europe, Africa and America (South and North) by using panel data from 2001 to 2014. Vector error correction model explored different results for different regions such as the causality of greenhouse gas for Europe and America; financial development for Asia; trade openness for Asia, Europe and America; and urbanization for Africa and America. The causality of greenhouse gas emission was bi-directional with urbanization in America and trade in Europe. The bi-directional causality of trade was observed with financial development in Asia and urbanization in Africa. The generalized method of moment and fully modified ordinary least square explored a direct association of per capita greenhouse gas emission with financial development in Europe; energy consumption in all panels, and renewable energy in Africa and America. But, the relationship of per capita emission was reciprocal with financial development in Asia, Africa and America; renewable energy in Europe; trade in Europe, Africa and America; and urbanization in Asia, Europe and America. The relationship of variables changes from region to region and country to country. A country-based reciprocal effect on per capita greenhouse gas was observed for financial development, renewable energy, trade openness and urbanization for different countries. This paper provides an insight to policy makers to re-structure the financial system, energy usage pattern, trade and urbanization in accordance with the cleaning of environment at country and regional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The African continent is endowed with massive energy resources such as hydropower, solar, wind, natural gas, wave energy, and many more, yet it is the continent with the least energy supply in the world thereby resulting in a lack of sufficient energy to meet its growing energy demand. Though the continent holds 100 GW of wind capabilities, the current installed capacity as at 2018 was 5.7 GW with countries in northern Africa as well as South Africa capturing over 90% of the wind energy share on the continent. Therefore, this paper reviews the wind energy industry in Africa by identifying the current installed and potential capacity of wind energy on the continent. The challenges faced by the wind energy industry such as policy, competition, technical and economic are also reviewed. Transitions, technological innovation systems, and strategic niche management theoretical sustainability transition framework as well as proposed pathways to overcome these prevailing challenges hindering the full exploration of the wind energy sector in Africa are also highlighted in order to uplift the continent's socio-economic status. Basically, this can be achieved through the adoption of strong 'political-will' by African national governments to drive wind energy development. There is also the need for institutional frameworks to ensure the practical adoption of new wind energy technologies. Furthermore, the major benefits Africa stands to gain from investment in wind energy are enumerated by comparing with the benefits realized by other countries' economies as a result of investing in the wind energy industry. For instance, cheap electricity, job creation, industrial growth, and eco-friendly energy source. • Reviewing wind energy industry in Africa and existing challenges. • The challenges faced by African's wind energy industry can be categorized under policy, competition, technical and economic. • Framework for transiting Africa's wind energy industry from small-scale production to large-scale commercial industry.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, land is becoming an important commodity and the land sector in many developing countries has been object of growing foreign acquisitions. The aim of the paper is to analyze whether the requirements set by the EU Renewable Energy Directive introducing biofuels sustainability criteria has induced the European investors acquiring land for producing biofuel feedstocks to adopt more sustainable strategies. First, we review the factors that may induce a corporation to adopt sustainable behavior and corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies in the context of land acquisitions. Second, the paper illustrates our original evidence on European land acquisitions in Africa and on the behavior of the investors involved. Then, we use a logistic model to estimate the variables affecting the investor’s choice to certify its actions and to adopt CSR strategies. Our evidence shows that the main factors influencing the probability that an investor chooses to certify the sustainability of its actions are: the sector in which it operates, the fact of acquiring land in more than one foreign country and the characteristics of origin and destination country. Interestingly, the European economic operators involved in acquisitions for biofuel crops show significantly lower probability of being certified. Therefore, the EU sustainability criteria seem to be ineffective in guaranteeing and verifying the sustainability of the European land investments in Africa. Joint efforts by European Union, Member States, target Countries and private sector operators are necessary to prevent the negative effects of land acquisitions on local stakeholders and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper is dedicated to explore the dynamic performance of energy efficiency in Africa, with panel data in country level, taking energy yield, power consumption, electricity transmission and distribution losses into account, the paper employ stochastic frontier mode,highlighting a dummy variable in energy output in terms of net imports of energy and power, which minify the deviation of estimated variables. The results show that returns of scale did not appear in energy and power industry in Africa, electricity transmission and distribution losses contribute most to GDP per unit of energy. In country level, Republic of Congo and Botswana suggest an obvious energy efficiency advantage. Energy efficiency in Mozambique and Democratic Republic of Congo are not very satisfying during the studying year [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Using real-time load data and HOMER Pro's 'multi-year' optimization tool, this paper investigates the long-term cost optimal capacity expansion planning (CEP) for an overloaded photovoltaic (PV) mini-grid (MG) with storage batteries in off-grid rural Ethiopia over a 20-year planning horizon. Three distinct annual energy demand growth scenarios were considered: 0 % (fulfils the minimum load requirement), 5 %, and a 15 % from productive users only. In all scenarios, the generation mix consists of only solar energy and the maximum allowable capacity shortage (MACS) is limited to 10 %. The findings reveal that, in all scenarios, the largest capacity expansion is performed on the battery and PV systems, covering up to 73 % and 35 % of the total expansion costs, respectively. The annual unmet load fraction of the expanded MG system ranges from 5.9 % in scenario-3 to 9.4 % in scenario-1, and the cost of electricity (LCOE) ranges from $0.404/kWh in scenario-3 to $0.887/kWh in scenario-1. The results indicate that the scenario-3 expansion path is comparatively cost-effective and has the highest reliability; but it still falls short of fully satisfying the required load demand and is not financially viable. Surprisingly, increasing the reliability of the scenario-3 capacity expansion from 94 % to 100 % raises the MG's Net Present Cost by 37 %. The sensitivity analysis shows that the MACS, ambient temperature, and battery's depth of discharge significantly affect the cost and performance of the capacity expansion. The study demonstrates (a) there are significant trade-offs between minimizing MG expansion costs and maximizing reliability levels; (b) capacity expansion based solely on cost-minimization without considering key constraints and uncertainties (demand, cost, PV, and battery degradations) may not provide a practical and robust solution to severe reliability issues, (c) capacity expansion that supports demand from productive users increases the cost-effectiveness and bankability of isolated MGs. • Long-term capacity expansion planning for an off-grid PV-battery mini-grid performed • 100% renewable source and 10% maximum allowable capacity shortage imposed • Battery expansion cost accounted for 52-73% of total capacity expansion costs • Trade-off between minimizing expansion costs and maximizing reliability is high • Increased demand from productive use increases bankability of off-grid MGs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its vast natural resources, African is facing serious challenges in sustainable development in an energy sector, if addressed with dispatch could not only check its indispensable needs, but also mitigate some global phenomenon at stake, such as desertification, environmental degradation and green house emission. This paper reviews the prospects of four major renewable energy sources-hydro, solar, wind and biomass- for each of the three leading countries in Africa namely South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria. Based on literature survey of energy efficiency, all the three countries encourage energy efficiency in varying degrees. In the course of this review, several national energy policy frameworks of these countries were looked into, especially on how African countries could overcome the persistent energy crisis in the continent by utilizing the naturally gifted renewable energy sources. This could only be achievable if proper technology, awareness and skills for harnessing the resources are provided. Also lingering energy challenges such as energy efficiency measures, needs for grid extension, energy storage technology and seasonal variation were carefully highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of globalization on progress toward SDG 7, with a particular focus on electricity access, renewable energy consumption, and energy intensity. Data are on 42 African countries over the 2000 – 2015 period. Findings from the fixed-effects model with the Driscoll-Kraay estimator show that overall globalization improves electricity access, while its effect on renewable energy consumption and energy intensity is insignificant. Additional findings show that economic globalization improves electricity access and energy efficiency; social globalization undermines renewable energy consumption while improving energy efficiency; political globalization increases electricity access and renewable energy consumption. Some recommendations are provided. • The contribution of globalization to the progress toward SDG 7 is investigated. • The data are based on a sample of 45 countries over the 2000–2019 period. • Globalization increases electeicity access with no relevant effects on renewable energy consumption and energy intensity. • Distinguishing between various dimensions and aspects of globalization provides more specific findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends the work of Al-Mulali and Ozturk (2015) [1] by re-investigating the Environment Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis for 15 MENA (Middle East and North African) countries using the Ecological Footprint (EF) as a proxy of environmental degradation over the period 1975–2007. Unlike the existing studies, we augment the basic EKC relationship by considering life expectancy at birth, fertility rate and political institutional index variables as new possible determinants of environmental degradation. The estimation of this relationship has been conducted for all MENA 15 countries, for oil-exporting and non-oil-exporting countries sub-samples. The results show that energy use worsens ecological footprint, whereas real GDP per capita exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship with EF in oil-exporting countries and in the sample as a whole, i.e., the EKC hypothesis is validated. For the non-oil-exporting countries, the relationship between EF and economic growth is U-shaped. Moreover, our findings show that socio-demographic variables such as urbanization, life expectancy at birth and fertility rate improve the environment in the long term. We also found that the improvement of political institutions in those countries has not been accompanied by a reduction of environmental stress. The Granger causality results support evidence of the existence of an error correction mechanism between the EF, real GDP, energy use and the fertility rate. Specifically, in the short term, we found strong evidence for bidirectional causality among the ecological, real GDP and energy-use variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the long-run and causal relationships among energy consumption, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and economic growth for a sample of 12 selected Sub-Sahara African countries. It applies the bounds test to cointegration and Granger causality test to annual data covering the period 1971–2010. The empirical results are mixed across countries. In the long-run, energy consumption and economic growth are associated with increase in atmospheric pollution in most countries. Results from the Granger causality tests show evidence of economic growth causing CO2 emissions in the short-run in Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal, implying that economic expansion cannot be achieved without affecting the environment. Evidence of reverse causality running from CO2 emissions to economic growth has been found for Gabon, Nigeria and Togo, indicating that environmental policies aiming at reducing air pollution may have adverse effects on economic growth. Moreover, bidirectional causality between economic growth and CO2 emissions has been found in the short-run for Nigeria and in the long-run for Congo and Gabon. In the long-run, energy consumption and economic growth cause CO2 emissions in Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Togo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the fight against global climate change, improving energy efficiency and reducing related emissions are critical to mitigating sustainability issues such as global warming. In this regard, technological progress is known to improve energy efficiency and reduce related emissions. However, previous sustainability studies on Africa have paid less attention to energy and emission efficiency convergence among countries, along with the contribution of technological progress to the continent's sustainability. Accordingly, this paper develops a novel framework that assesses energy and emission efficiency convergence, gauges technology inequality, identifies the barriers to technology diffusion, and explores the factors influencing energy and emission efficiency convergence in Africa. The proposed framework incorporates Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), several economic convergence concepts, a K-means clustering model, the concept of efficiency Gini coefficient, and a group-based inequality decomposition method. We empirically covered 39 African countries from 2006 to 2018. The results show that African countries are, on average, 71.1% energy efficient and 65.3% CO 2 emission efficient, leaving more room for energy saving and emissions reduction. Second, there is strong evidence of convergence in energy and emission efficiencies in Africa. Third, despite the observed convergence process, there is significant heterogeneity between two research groups (i.e., low-and high-efficiency groups of countries) in terms of energy and emission efficiencies, with persistent technology inequality suggesting a lower contribution of environmental technological advancements to the continent's sustainability. Furthermore, cross-group inequality is the primary barrier to technology diffusion. Fourth, regional cooperation accelerates the convergence process in the two efficiency indicators. While economic development, industrial structure, and renewable energy consumption (REC) tend to favor energy and emission efficiency growth, rising foreign direct investment (FDI) and energy prices have a negative impact. Meanwhile, the effects of energy prices, FDI, and REC on emission efficiency are insignificant. Based on our findings, we discussed policy implications to promote energy and emission efficiency convergence and narrow environmental technology gaps. • Convergence in Total-factor energy and emission efficiency in Africa is explored. • Technology inequality across African countries is measured. • There is strong evidence of convergence in TFEE and TFCEE in Africa. • A persistent technology inequality is found among African countries. • Cross-group efficiency inequality is the main barrier to technology diffusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper analyzes the optimal options for supplying electricity to national economies from both domestic and distant energy resources using high voltage lines to transmit the substantial renewable energy resources of Africa. To meet the growing demand, Africa will need to provide 5.2 GW of new generation per year through 2025. This figure represents an increase of 65% from the 2010 level and will assist in connecting more than 11 million new customers per year through the development of a transmission network. The total discounted system cost is approximately 8% of the continent's GDP. Approximately two-thirds of the discounted system cost is associated with new generation, and the remaining one-third is associated with the development of the transmission network. From 2010 to 2025, trade expansion reduces the total system cost by 21% relative to the business as usual (BAU). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Nigeria is endowed with abundant energy resources, both conventional and renewable, which can potentially provide the country with a sufficient capacity to meet the ambitions of both urban and rural Nigerians of a full, nationwide electrification level. Yet, Nigeria has one of the lowest consumption rates of electricity per capita in Africa. With the demand superseding the generation, there is inequitable access of rural communities to the electricity service in the country. There are inherent obstacles militating against the effective implementation of an orderly energy policy in Nigeria. The inefficiencies overshadowing the allocation of energy resources coupled with the near depletion of fossil fuels, make it imperative for the country to exploit its huge natural renewable resources to avoid a worsening energy supply scenario and provide feasible electricity to rural dwellers. This paper presents a review of renewable energy potentials in Nigeria to be tapped for useful and uninterrupted electric energy supply. The extent of renewable energy resources is described and existing government policies are articulated. Various polices, that could possibly incentivize the realization of wider renewable energy applications in rural Nigeria, are proposed. The challenges and future prospects of renewable energy are also discussed. Dissemination of decentralized renewable energy resources will not only improve the wellbeing of rural Nigerian communities, but also enhance Nigeria's energy and economic prospects for potential global investment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Given the rising resource exploration and mining openings, energy demand improvement is crucial for African sustainable development as it forms an integral part of public revenue. However, mining agglomeration benefits on energy productivity have been recognized in prior studies, yet empirical insights on Africa's mining sector remain unknown. This paper evaluates the impact of mining agglomeration on energy productivity in Africa using country-level data on 21 economies from 2009 to 2017. The study applied panel fixed effect model, and panel threshold fixed effect technique to estimate linear and nonlinear effects. Energy productivity is computed using Shephard energy distance function (SEDF). The findings suggest that mining agglomeration directly enhances energy productivity. Also, a nonlinear relationship exists between mining agglomeration and energy productivity. In particular, the positive impact of mining agglomeration only exists at a certain level of economic development. Further, on average, total Africa's mining energy productivity improved over the sample period, but performance differs among economic regions. The study findings support the view that policymakers should re-enforce, upgrade, and adopt innovative cluster development strategies and investor-friendly elements in regional mining codes. [Display omitted] • We evaluate the impact of mining agglomeration on energy productivity in Africa. • Mining agglomeration directly enhances energy productivity. • Nonlinear relationship exists between mining agglomeration and energy productivity. • The effect of agglomeration only exists at a certain level of economic development. • On average, energy productivity improved, but performance varies among economic regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operation and economic profitability of modern energy systems is constrained by the availability of renewable energy and water resources. Lower water availability due to climate change, higher demand and increased water consumption for non-energy and energy needs may cause problems in Africa. In most African power systems, hydropower is a dominant renewable energy resource, and interconnection capacities are usually limited or unreliable. This paper describes a new modelling framework for analysing the water-energy nexus in the African Power Pools. This framework includes soft linking between two models: the LISFLOOD model is used to generate hydrological inputs and the Dispa-SET model is used for mid-term hydrothermal coordination and optimal unit commitment and power dispatch over the whole African continent. The results show a good agreement between the model outputs and the historical values, despite data-related limitations. Furthermore, the simulations provide hourly time series of electricity generation at the plant level in a robust way. It appears that some African power pools heavily rely on the availability of freshwater resources, while others are less dependent. In the long term, the dependence of the power system on water resources is likely to increase to meet the increasing electricity demand in Africa. • Robust and highly detailed analysis of water-energy nexus in African power pools. • Open source soft-linking framework between LISFLOOD and Dispa-SET models. • First open-source unit commitment and power dispatch model of African power pools. • A compilation of diverse data sources used for the integrated water-energy modelling. • Examination of current and future electricity situation and potential of power trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term "circular economy" has become more prevalent over the last decade, especially in the areas of sustainability, resource management and productivity. Globally, more national, public and private sector organizations are considering the concept in their daily operations. With growing concerns about the impacts of climate change, there are equally growing debates about curbing the impacts. One such debate is to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. This paper reviewed existing literature relevant to Africa's energy transition – whether it is enabled and can be guided by the principles of a circular economy. Various journal articles and business studies published between 2009 and 2019 were reviewed using a Systematic Literature Review Process. The study found that Africa's energy demand is expected to increase significantly, and it will be driven by industrialization and population growth. Most of sub-Saharan Africa's energy supply comes from renewable energy sources, while countries such as Algeria, Nigeria, Morocco, South Africa and Egypt (the Big Five) are still heavily dependent on fossil fuels. The researchers concluded that a circular economy approach can enable greater renewable energy uptake and transitioning. To support and enable a sustainable energy transition, regional finance institutions such as the African Development Bank and governments, can continue to finance more scalable technologies and adopt 'intentional' regulations which are guided by circular principles and a just-transition. Although data pertaining to how the transition can be underpinned by circularity is limited, there is great opportunity for more scientific and industry research that can provide further contextualized support. • The African Development Bank will no longer finance coal projects from 2020. • Africa's Big Five economies predominantly use fossil fuels such as coal and oil. • Positive economic growth and increasing energy demand are forecasted for the continent between 2030 and 2050. • Africa can leapfrog the transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy sources to sustainably address these forecasts. • Adopting and contextualising Circular Economy principles and models can optimise the energy transition. • However, more research is required to further unpack how this can be done across Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial activities intensification has inevitably caused an excessive use of underground waters and fossils energies, and severe environmental pollution with dire consequences for water resources. This situation intensifies in populated arid regions. In this context, wastewater treatment is a reliable source of water and nutrients for agricultural production. This study aims at treating wastewater using photovoltaic energy, to reduce conventional electricity demand. This paper studies energy and economic feasibility of grid-connected photovoltaic systems (GCPVS) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The optimization is based on: energy balance, installation surface area and levelized cost of energy (LCOE). Results show GCPVS installed in the northwest of Algeria, can cover 53% of WWTP electrical load and inject 510 MWh/year into grid representing 65% of the load. The regional energy consumption can be reduced by 2% in daytime. LCOE is estimated around 09.14 centUS$/kWh, which is lower than conventional electricity cost 10.17 centUS$/kWh. The benefit-cost ratio is estimated around 0.69 Million US$ (33%). This plant provides 4800 m3/day of agricultural irrigation, where treatment energy cost is decreased from 3.4 centUS$/m3 to 2.3 centUS$/m3. The WWTP fertilize 300 ha of soil per year. This work highlights the efficiency of self-sufficient WWTPs in northern Africa region. • Wastewater treatment plants can serve as dispersed photovoltaic generators. • Use photovoltaic energy to treat wastewater. • Optimal photovoltaic system is proposed for Algerian region wastewater treatment plants. • Eco-energetic analysis and environmental impact of designed photovoltaic system are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between ICT development and energy demand in 28 African countries for the period covering 2000 to 2014. ICT development is measured by the number of individuals using Internet and by the mobile cellular subscriptions. The study uses a dynamic energy demand model and adopts the System Generalized Method of Moments with a panel causality test. The results suggest that ICT development has a positive significant effect on energy demand, implying that the African countries under study have not yet achieved energy efficiency gains through ICT development. Unidirectional causal relationships from internet usage to energy demand and from energy demand to mobile cellular subscriptions are found. We found a bidirectional causality between mobile cellular subscriptions and electricity demand. Our results support that Africa needs to take advantage of the digital economic and that there is a potential leverage effect of energy on the development of mobile industry in Africa. Moreover, mobile technology can help in delivering electricity services and meet energy demand. The findings point out that internet usage reduces the demand of energy from other types of energy such as heat and transportation. • ICT development and energy demand nexus analyzed for 28 African countries. • Internet use associated with mobile cellular use increase energy demand. • Bidirectional causality between mobile cellular use and electricity demand. • Unidirectional causality from internet use to energy demand. • Unidirectional causality from energy demand to mobile cellular use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]