Energy struggles: renewable energy in Africa

Project summary

The overall objective of this project is to contribute to a better understanding of how a transition to renewable energy can occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Many countries have set targets for solar and wind, but implementation has been slow and uneven. With rising energy consumption, there is a risk that the continent will become a more significant contributor to climate change. Understanding the difference between targets and the implementation of renewable energy in developing countries is still little developed. In the literature, there has been a tendency to focus on how technical innovation in renewable energy can drive a transition of energy systems. It is, however, increasingly clear that politics and power play a decisive role in the prioritization of energy projects. The project aims to develop a conceptual framework for the study of the political economy of energy that can analyse and help explain how energy projects are prioritized in different countries. It will conduct research on the development of the energy sectors in Tanzania and Ghana, which have both set targets for renewable energy. The two countries differ in the degree of the state’s involvement in their energy sectors, Ghana having liberalized more than Tanzania. The project’s hypothesis is that this difference caters for different dynamics in the energy sectors that decisively influence how an energy transition can occur. The project team uses multidisciplinary approaches to undertake research on the relative importance of technological capabilities, state capacity, and policy coalitions in the energy sectors. Throughout, the project pays particular attention to the role of access to energy services for the poor, which is a priority for both Tanzania and Ghana, as well as for Danish development assistance. The project also aims to provide
evidence-based findings that can lead to more informed decision-making in partner countries with regard to the choice of renewable energy technologies. The project is designed to enhance the capacities of younger-level researchers involved in the project.