Prospects for the development of hydropower in Africa

Hydro resources play an important role in Africa’s electricity sector, being the third largest source of electricity generation. Despite the rapid development of renewable energy such as solar and wind over the past 10 years, hydro power remains the most used renewable energy source in Africa. Today, only 10% of Africa’s hydro potential is used and is concentrated mainly in the countries of Central, East and West Africa. In these subregions large hydroelectric power plants will soon be commissioned. These new plants will be among the largest in Africa and in the world. The further development of hydropower in Africa is fraught with a number of obstacles, both economic and technical. The author conducts a comprehensive analysis of the problems in the hydropower sector in Africa, outlines possible ways to solve them and comes to the conclusion that expanding the use of this reliable source of clean, relatively cheap, high-quality electricity will help solve one of the continent’s most important problems – energy poverty.