Africa powers on with green projects

Africa Renewable Energy

Unsurprisingly the number of renewable energy projects in Africa remain behind that of other developing regions like Asia and Latin America, but the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced that the green energy sector is developing well.

The projects in Africa range from renewable technologies such as wind farms to smaller scale programs like tree planting. They are all part of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol.

The UNEP reports that a total of 112 CDM Africa projects are at a "validation, requesting registration registered" stage, and are thought to be worth around 212 million euros a year.

In 2008 the number of projects stood at 78 projects, and in 2004 at a mere two.

Developing Africa's renewable energy sector

Around 80 percent of the projects are in sub-Saharan Africa, with 28 projects underway or planned in South Africa, followed by 14 in Kenya. In North Africa, Egypt has 13 projects followed by Morocco with 10.

The projects include two large solar water heating projects in South Africa, the promotion of energy efficient light bulbs in rural Senegal, and a municipal waste-composting project in Uganda.

The role of African governments in developing Africa's renewable energy sector is absolutely vital, and in the lead up to the UN Climate Change Convention in Copenhagen in December the responsibility falls on them to push through more and more policy reform.

Around 4,730 CDM projects operating globally

While the figures are encouraging, they also underline how few projects are currently flowing into Africa when compared to several other parts of the world.

Today, there are over 4,730 CDM projects operating or close to approval globally. The majority of projects are in Asia and the Pacific with a total of just over 3,700 projects, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean with close to 820.

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Renewable energy funding for Africa | Could Africa power the world? | Commitments to climate change

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