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The Global Wind Energy Council and EnergyNet, the organisers of the Africa Energy Forum, have formed a collaboration that provides a critical venue for Africa’s wind energy sector to advocate for the technology as part of Africa’s present and future energy mix. As a result, GWEC’s Africa WindPower programme, which is funded by GET.invest, has been designated as the official ‘Lead Wind Energy Partner’ for the event.
The partnership demonstrates a realisation of the role that wind energy will play in boosting Africa’s sustainable economic growth, from investment to job creation and local supply chain opportunities. Despite Africa’s vast known wind resource, the continent barely has 1% of the world’s wind farms. However, many countries across the Continent are poised for an increase in wind energy installation in the coming years, from the more established markets of Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, and South Africa to the nascent wind markets of Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, Tunisia, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Ghana.
Wangari Muchiri, GWEC’s Africa WindPower Director, commented that “wind energy has so much to offer Africa as a driver of sustainable economic growth. As an African wind industry, we have already shown that we can provide people with clean and reliable electricity, make business, industry and entire economies more competitive, all the while decarbonising energy systems. From the Taiba N’Diaye wind farm in Senegal, to Lake Turkana in Kenya to Jeffrey’s Bay in South Africa, wind energy is already making a positive difference across the Continent – it is just not well enough understood yet. We look forward to engaging with public and private sector stakeholders at the Africa Energy Forum in Nairobi to discuss the opportunities that wind energy can bring.”
The Africa Energy Forum brings together all sectors of the continent’s energy industry, including important drivers and partners for wind energy. This includes complementing clean energy sources like solar and hydropower, as well as supporting technologies like battery storage and green hydrogen, private industrial offtakers, and an oil and gas industry that is more willing to participate in wind.
Michael Franz, GET.invest Team Leader stated: “On behalf of our contributors – the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria – we are proud to support the Africa Energy Forum through GWEC’s Africa WindPower to drive further investment for wind energy in Africa. This partnership aligns with GET.invest’s key objective of mobilising renewable energy investments at scale and our mandate as the Team Europe One Stop Shop under the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative, bundling European contributions to green energy in Africa.”
George Hudson, Portfolio Manager & Head of Corporate Development Africa, EnergyNet added: “We are delighted to partner with GWEC at this year’s Africa Energy Forum (aef) in Nairobi. This will be the first time the Forum has ever been held on mainland Africa in its 25-year history and it is vital to partner with organisations like GWEC to bring awareness to the opportunities wind energy presents across Africa. aef will see over 2,500 of Africa’s key public and private sector decision-makers meet to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the continent’s energy sector, and our partnership with GWEC provides a unique opportunity to engage with globally-recognised market-leaders operating in the wind energy space. We look forward to working with GWEC at aef to bring awareness to the opportunities for investment in wind energy across Africa, and to highlight the increasing contribution of wind energy within the continent’s energy mix.”
