By: Keith Morrison
With data centers set to account for 20% of global energy use by 2050, is East Africa on the precipice of a global gold rush as it showcases a wealth of bankable businesses and unparalleled new energy potential.
In 2024, following EnergyNet’s Powering Africa Summit in Washington DC, USA, Mara Holdings signaled their intent to invest in East Africa by signing a major off-taker MOU with the government of Kenya, setting the tone for what will potentially change the game for the region and the commercial validity for many IPPs.
At the East Africa Energy Cooperation Summit (EA-ECS), taking place 29-30 January in Arusha, Tanzania, we are pleased to unite the Africa’s energy IPPs and EPCF stakeholders to explore the investment potential and innovations being created by strategically important companies, including Africa Data Centres and iXAfrica.
At the heart of this regional surge in investment activity sits the EAC Secretariat, who convenes investors and policy makers alongside EnergyNet, focusing on “Resource Wealth. Energy Access. Investment Opportunities.”
Building on the success of last year, the summit will foster cooperation across East Africa, reflecting the East African Community’s (EAC) vision of deeper regional integration and the critical role of promoting industrialization and cooperation among stakeholders.
Success stories, including the Ethiopia-Kenya electricity highway, underscore the transformative potential of cross-border collaboration for economic and social development.
Off-takers are boosting the need for energy generation and the summit will focus on both the mining industry and digital infrastructure.
Led by Ministers from across the EAC and large-scale energy users, over two days, the Arusha Summit will deep dive into opportunities for the private sector, advocating for a diversified energy mix to maintain grid stability to support major industrial growth, as well as C&I generation.
“Energy is a pillar for development and growth and is crucial for the functioning of the economies of the EAC Partner States. The East Africa Energy Cooperation Summit will serve as the ideal platform for advancing projects and bringing tangible changes in the industry,” said H.E. Honourable Andrea Malueth, Deputy Secretary General (Infrastructure, Productive, Social & Political Sectors), East African Community Secretariat.
EA-ECS will welcome prominent politicians and leaders from all countries of the EAC and its energy sector. They join the private sector business developers who are shaping the future of East Africa’s energy landscape, serving some 500 million people.
“Ten years from now, the EAC’s middle classes will have more job stability, more opportunities, and more disposable income than ever before. New railways, industries, ports, and tourism will position the region as the number one investment destination globally, taking the title back from both parts of Asia and Latin America,” said Elisa Palmioli, Producer, EnergyNet.
In effect, the said conference is currently on-going with governments and private sectors actors from across the continent including West Africa fully in attendance. For her parts, the current administration of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai is fully represented with the Liberian Chief Executive himself leading the delegation; which comprised Finance Development Planning Minister Augustine K. Ngafuan and Mines and Energy Minister Wilmot Paye as well as several other key actors in the Energy sector.
Furthermore, the Government of Liberia was able to present its recently developed Energy Compact at the Arusha Energy Conference. According to a dispatch from the summit, the Government of Liberia is among the first 14 countries invited to submit compact proposals.
In an interview with State radio ELBC from DaresSalaam,Minister Ngafuan noted that the World Bank Group’s partnership with the African Development Bank on Mission 300;an ambitious initiative to connect 300 million people to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.
The mission, Minister Ngafuan intoned, seeks to accelerate electrification, promote cleaner energy sources, and foster economic growth, job creation, and sector reform across the region. He indicated that Liberia’s compact proposal outlines plans to enhance energy infrastructure, increase renewable energy, and improve access to electricity.
Minister Ngafuan then concluded that the compact commits to providing electricity to 100,000 households from the current 70,000 annually, ultimately increasing the share of the population with electricity access to 75% by 2030, up from the current 32.7%. In addition, it also aims to raise Liberia’s renewable energy share to 75% through hydro resource development, a 20 MW Solar PV plant at Mt. Coffee,and 70MW of Solar PV and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) via an independent power purchase model.
