Africa to Add More Renewables in 2014 Than Past 14 Years

Growing demand for electricity and falling costs for wind and solar power mean more renewable-energy projects will be commissioned this year in sub-Saharan Africa than were added from 2000 through 2013.

About 1.8 gigawatts of capacity, excluding large hydroelectric power plants, will be added in 2014, the London-based research firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance said Thursday in a statement.  Investment in countries including South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia is estimated at $5.9 billion this year, and may reach $7.7 billion in 2016.  Average annual investment from 2006 through 2011 was $1 billion.

"What is different now is the breadth of activity, with wind, solar and geothermal exciting interest in many different countries, and the potential for further growth," Victoria Cuming, a Bloomberg New Energy Finance analyst, said in the statement.

Geothermal, wind and both small- and utility-scale solar projects will lead the way as "renewables can represent a cost-effective alternative, particularly compared to diesel generation but also to power stations burning coal or gas," according to the statement.

Africa to Add More Renewables in 2014 Than Past 14 Years