Although the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) could see billions of dollars invested in the development of renewable energies in developing countries, this report argues that successful development of viable markets in renewable technologies is highly dependent on context-specific factors.

This report looks at the context-specific factors behind the success of three renewable energy developments that have taken place in developing countries- without significant foreign investment or the CDM.

Africa's renewable energy power potential is substantially larger than the current and projected power consumption of the continent. Local geothermal, solar thermal and bioenergy resources have an important role to play in covering future heat demand. Domestic biofuels and renewable energy-based electrification of urban public transport can contribute significantly to transport needs.

In 2015, global investment in renewables grew about 5 percent relative to the previous year and reached an all-time high of US$ 286 billion (bn). And there are more interesting trends: Investment in renewables’ based electricity generation capacity in 2015 has been more than double the investment in the major fossil fuels (renewables: US$ 266 bn versus US$ 130 bn for coal and gas stations). This also leads to added capacity in terms of Gigawatts in 2015 in renewables (134 GW) outstripping all other technologies combined (conventional coal, gas, and nuclear).

Renewable power has significant potential to reduce the cost of electricity in rural and island settings across the developing world. In areas distant from main power grids, regional isolated grids – often referred to as mini-grids – are often the main source of electricity to industry and households. Power generation usually relies on diesel fuel, often imported over long distances. Yet genera­ting costs can be reduced by hybridising these mini-grids with solar photo­vol­taic (PV) or other renewable power sources.

POWERING AFRICA THROUGH FEED-IN TARIFFS, ADVANCING RENEWABLE ENERGY TO MEET THE CONTINENT'S ELECTRICITY NEEDS