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Financing Electricity Access in Africa Pathway to universal access
Mobilising the necessary investment Under the new Accelerating Clean Cooking and Electricity Services Scenario (ACCESS), investment of nearly USD 150 billion is needed to achieve universal electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa by 2035. This represents a six-fold increase in annual spending from today’s levels, facilitated by improvements to the regulatory environment, strengthened risk management by developers and risk-mitigation tools to support more private investment, and a more targeted use of concessional funds.Around 45% of households currently without access are connected via the grid under the ACCESS scenario, with financial support for households to reduce connection fees and…
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Universal Access to Clean Cooking in Africa Implications and policy considerations
A new recipe for success? Progress on clean cooking requires efforts from a wide range of stakeholders. These include efforts to enhance countries’ policy frameworks, address consumer affordability and other barriers to adoption, cultivate a skilled workforce and mobilise additional financing to the sector – themes discussed in this chapter.Access to low-cost debt will be key for companies to grow their customer base quickly. In the ACCESS, the share of debt financing in the sector increases from 35% today to over 50%. This depends on more financiers being able to assess and appropriately price risk clean cooking companies and…
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IEA Support to Accelerating Renewable Energy Permitting (ARPE)
Between October 2023 and March 2025, the IEA implemented the “Accelerating Renewable Energy Permitting” (ARPE) action. The goal of ARPE was to support five EU Member states – Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and the Slovak Republic (Focus countries) – in developing and implementing policy and regulatory measures aimed at reaching their renewable energy targets, notably through accelerating permitting of renewable energy projects.In support of this objective, the IEA organised and facilitated five workshops focused on the following topics:streamlining administrative proceduresaccelerating offshore wind deploymentfacilitating spatial planning for renewable energy deploymentensuring public engagement and acceptance, and afinal workshop summarizing the project…
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World Energy Investment 2025 Africa
Africa is faced with new challenges and opportunities as the composition and source of investment flows in the continent shift Africa is characterised by strong regional imbalances. South Africa and North Africa account for less than 20% of the population but more than 45% of energy investment and over 65% of installed electrical capacity. By contrast, Sub-Saharan Africa, home to most of the region’s population, receives less energy investment and has limited access to reliable electricity. New connection rates have steadily increased since 2000 but remain well below the universal access target set for 2030, with 600 million…
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Financing Clean Energy in Africa Clean energy investment landscape: setting the scene
Summary The IEA’s Africa Energy Outlook 2022 laid out a new scenario – the Sustainable Africa Scenario (SAS) – which sees the continent achieve by 2030, in full and on time, all of its energy and climate-related goals, including universal energy access and its NDCs.Realising the SAS requires mobilising over USD 200 billion annually by 2030, but energy investment has been declining in Africa and in 2022 was under USD 90 billion. Clean energy spending was a fraction of this at around USD 25 billion – only 2% of the global total despite the recent rise in global clean energy investment. This is far from what…
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Stepping Up the Value Chain in Africa Executive summary
Africa is endowed with vast energy resources – fossil fuels, but also solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal – and yet energy supply remains limited: Around 600 million people on the continent lack reliable access to electricity. This energy gap constrains economic growth and industrial potential, particularly in rural areas where agriculture remains the dominant sector in the economy. As African economies grow and urbanise, the demand for energy-intensive industries and infrastructure is rising. Strategic investments in sustainable industrialisation can create a virtuous cycle that expands energy access and drives productivity, which in turn can attract more investment.Market opportunities already exist. Globally…
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Sustainable Transport for Georgia: A Roadmap Transport in Georgia: Taking stock
Status and key developments Transportation is a key contributor to Georgia’s economic growth. Economic activity associated with transport and warehousing in the country has grown rapidly, outpacing gross domestic product (GDP). Between 2010 and 2022, transport’s contribution to GDP nearly tripled, increasing from 1.4 billion GEL (520 million USD) to 4.1 billion GEL (1.52 billion USD). In 2023, transport and storage combined contributed 6.5% to Georgia’s GDP.Transport and storage employed around 8% of Georgia’s workforce in 2023. Cargo movements spurred by Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine pushed up…
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Renewables for Industry
Electrification of low-temperature heat and steam Industry is responsible for 30% of global energy consumption, most of which is supplied by fossil fuels. The focus of industrial decarbonisation has largely been on the steel and cement sectors, but significant potential also exists in less energy-intensive sectors such as food and beverages, textiles, chemicals, paper, and other manufacturing activities. These sectors offer some of the most immediate and cost-effective opportunities for industrial decarbonisation and diversification of energy sources. Commercially available electric technologies – including heat pumps, electric boilers and resistance heaters – can meet most heat demand in these subsectors…
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Energy security
Multiple benefits of Energy Efficiency 2025 Energy efficiency provides multiple benefits. This page explores energy security. Why is energy efficiency important for energy security? Energy efficiency can help mitigate energy security risks by reducing the reliance on fossil fuel imports, improving grid reliability, and acting as a buffer to supply shocks. Key facts Efficiency gains from the last two decades avoided the need for 20% more fossil fuel imports in IEA countries. Energy efficiency and demand response can support grid reliability by reducing peak demand. For instance, more efficient air conditioners in India could lower the impact of heatwaves on…
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Unlocking Ukraine’s Hydrogen Opportunity: A Roadmap
Ukraine’s energy sector has been severely affected by the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion. The power sector went from having a large capacity surplus before the war to a power deficit in 2024 due to Russia’s attacks. This has focused attention on energy security and restoring the reliability of supply. Hydrogen demand from conventional applications in refining and ammonia has also plunged, falling 80%, with most of these assets in southern Ukraine, where the frontline and occupied areas are located. Overall economic damage from the war has been extensive, with reconstruction costs previously estimated by the World…
