Empowering Africa’s Renewable Energy Future: Navigating Neocolonial Dynamics, Foreign Investments, and Regional Cooperation

While Africa’s energy landscape is fraught with challenges and strife, global players like China, the United States, and a multitude of European countries continue to vie for a coveted prize – the continent’s renewable energy potential. This is not new. Africa’s interactions with foreign actors have been carved, moulded, and forged from a history of dependency and neocolonialism. Given that this past dynamic has left its legacy deeply etched, the echoes of Nkrumahism rumble once again. Named after Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, this doctrine remains ever relevant today as it emphasizes the importance for African nations to carefully consider foreign investments into their renewable energy sector and exert greater agency in matters of regional cooperation. This article contends that the agendas of foreign actors can border on the predatory. Thus, protective measures like these, which aim to prevent African nations from being relegated to the periphery in their own energy markets, should be heralded by the greater international community.

In recent assessments, the International Renewable Energy Agency evaluated Africa’s solar photovoltaic technical potential at 7,900 GW. This, no doubt, placed them on a pedestal as one of the world’s most promising regions for solar power generation – and, it didn’t end there. Africa’s potential in hydropower was also estimated at 1,753 GW and their wind energy at 461 GW. Normally, this would be ample reason to celebrate; however, the present dynamics of geopolitical competition and rhetoric that leans towards a renewable energy race within Africa make it very likely that key global players will have only their interest in mind.

Still, it is clear from Africa’s housing of energy-rich territories yet also energy-starved nations that the need for foreign investments and technological imports cannot be understated. Estimates provided by PwC set the cost for the continent reaching net zero by 2050 at a seemingly insurmountable $2.8 trillion. The financial burden of this amount is unbearable for most African economies, which is why they have naturally gravitated towards international finance to develop the sector.

At the moment, the EU’s 2020 hydrogen strategy that envisions cost-effective green hydrogen imports has amassed grave concerns. Their ambitions have opened doors to a larger spiral into extractive practices and the official birthing of ‘green grabbing’, where environmental projects act as smokescreens for resource appropriation. Physical manifestation of their objectives can be seen in the collaboration between Germany and Morocco to construct Africa’s first industrial plant for green hydrogen. It is natural for Germany to perceive this partnership as a low-risk, high-reward pursuit, as it caters to the aim of setting up a reliable supply of green energy for their consumption. If, or rather, when this materializes, it will significantly draw from the resources that could secure the continent’s sustainable growth and prosperity for its locals, perpetuating rising trends of ‘green colonialism’. This can also be recognised by delving deeper into the influential lobbies driving the EU’s green transition, which include fossil fuel companies with colonial legacies, like France’s Total and the Netherlands’ Shell.

In some projects, we can see that the flower of this form of colonialism has already bloomed. For one, the renowned Ouarzazate Solar Plant in Morocco, backed by the German-based Desertec Industrial Initiative, was built on land forcibly taken from impoverished groups like the Amazigh agro-pastoralists. The plant’s use of concentrated thermal power (CSP) demands water diversion from drinking and agricultural purposes to cool its systems. This exploitation of water, a necessity for life, in a semi-arid setting elicits significant humanitarian questions about the true cost of the project for locals in the region, especially when so few benefit directly from it. Derisking measures further expose the financial burden of the project, illustrating the way in which responsibility of covering the losses is shifted onto the public, while gains are privatised. With an annual deficit of a staggering €80 million since 2016, the initiative serves to reinforce colonialist dynamics through what can be classed as the ‘extortion’ of lower and middle-class Moroccans.

Wider energy diplomacy on the grand African chessboard also pushes this colonialist image. The upsurge of China’s infrastructure finance, namely through their Belt and Road Initiative, is being actively countered by the US and EU through the January 2021 Build Back Better World and the December 2021 Global Gateway Initiative, respectively. The fact that these plans are increasingly being labelled as a ‘counter-offensive’ and that they exist alongside an injection of overt criticism of China in the global narrative only legitimizes the presence of a battleground with opposing sides and self-centred interests.

China is not without fault either. Their East African Crude Oil Pipeline has been lambasted as a ‘disaster for the planet’ and their energy exploration usually comes with a hefty side serving of debt trap allegations, ecological damage, and human rights violations. Even the current war in South Sudan does not seem to be staving off their continued ‘oil gambits’. Instead of trying to reconcile the clashing parties, the backbone of their strategy simply consists of bankrolling the upper echelon of society and politics to gain access to energy resources. While this pertains to non-renewable resources, its implications can be drawn out. With the notion that ‘the past speaks the loudest’, it can be extrapolated that the conduct and motivations of foreign powers like China, the EU, and the US are unlikely to undergo a drastic transformation in their dealings with Africa’s renewable energy potential. For this reason, there is an urgent need for nations to present a united front and thoroughly assess their foreign investment options with the goal of safeguarding their sovereignty.

However, what certainly drives a wedge in hopes of greater synergy among African nations is the power play which exists both within and between them. Resource abundance in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria, to name a few, has devolved into what Professor Richard Auty terms the ‘Natural Resource Curse’. In such nations, the presence of lucrative energy resources like oil has led to low-capacity governments riddled with corruption, and militias that have a ready source of funds with which they can rebel against the state. The same can happen to nations with renewable energy sources as well. This is precisely why it is so crucial for them to exercise foresight and employ agency in formulating robust strategies for strong state management and responsible practices.

Similarly, incidences of renewable energy having the potential to transform into geopolitical tools has bred animosity and rivalry between African nations. While the primary purpose of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam centres on hydroelectric power generation, its ability to control the flow downstream has compromised Egypt’s and Sudan’s water security, fuelling diplomatic tensions. This situation is indicative of how delicate the balance between renewable energy projects and internal dynamics can be. Moreover, it goes further in underlining the need for collaboration and improved dialogue to dismantle this weaponization of energy, whether it be accidental or not. In doing so, a more interconnected, unified, and developed Africa can be forged.

Amplified by the absence of strong domestic regulations, regional cooperation becomes somewhat of an indispensable cornerstone for the future of African sustainable energy. It is an embodiment of limitless potential and can protect the more vulnerable regions from exploitation by foreign countries. Perhaps that is why African nations should demonstrate agency in driving collective investments in cross-border initiatives. There is also a large consensus around the construction of regional energy grids for enhanced energy security, and the African Union’s unique capacity to oversee these endeavours and prioritize African interests. These measures will enable greater autonomy over energy resources and equitable distribution which can replace relations of exploitation with ones of interdependence.

One can look at the examples of some of Africa’s Regional Economic Communities, like the East African Power Pool, which are already bringing resources together and sharing electricity over borders, as a solid starting point. Collaborations such as these offer a glimpse into a more integrated continent, where improvements in energy infrastructure pave the way for mutual prosperity. However, they are currently far from adequate, possibly because the threat posed by the fragile dynamics of the renewable energy landscape has not been fully realized.

It is time that Africa as a whole makes greater efforts to leverage its agency to be at the forefront of shaping their energy future. More importance must be given to kindling cordiality between its nations and existing collaborations must be replicated on a larger scale. Amidst these efforts, a pivotal step lies in reevaluating whether foreign investments contribute to sustainable development or augment neocolonial dependencies. The steps taken today will inform a legacy of resilience and empowerment for the future.

[Photo by Warren Rohner, via Wikimedia Commons]

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.