Energy experts gathered on 13 January 2023 on the sidelines of the IRENA Annual Assembly in Abu Dhabi, to discuss the achievements and impact of the CMP in establishing a continent-wide planning process for power generation and transmission.

Developing farsighted, affordable and climate-friendly expansion plans for energy systems is a high priority on the national agendas of most African countries. Given the immense potential for renewables in the region, there is also a strong economic case for energy transformation. This session, held on the sidelines of the 13th Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), was an opportunity to collect impressions from key African institutions, power pool representatives and major international partners on the role of the CMP.

Building on ongoing efforts of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) to establish the CMP, the meeting aimed to explore the current and future link of the CMP initiative with national planning processes and highlight the importance of building robust and nationally owned processes for designing long-term energy scenarios as the means to meet national and pan-African energy milestones.

The session was moderated by Professor Mark Howells from Imperial College London and was initiated by the IRENA Director General Mr. Francesco La Camera. Introductory remarks were provided by the United Nations’ Special Advisor on Africa Mrs. Cristina Duarte, followed by the keynote presentation by Mr Simbini Tichakunda of AUDA-NEPAD on the achievements and way forward for the CMP. IRENA’s overall support on institutional capacity building for energy planning was then presented by Dr. Asami Miketa.

The event featured a high-level panel discussion which concluded that the CMP will indeed contribute to accelerating the deployment of renewables and overcoming cultural resistance in Africa, and its outcomes will influence the Africa-centric work agendas of regional and international institutes as well as the national and regional planning processes. The panel included officials from the Coordination Centre of Southern African Power Pool, Energy Commission Ghana, Association of Power Utilities (APUA), African Energy Commission (AFREC) and the European Commission.

Panelists also insisted on the need to speed up the identification of mature infrastructure projects for financing and underlined the crucial role of countries and their national utilities in the success of the CMP.  

Reiterating partners’ support

Presentations by the African Development Bank (AfDB), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the European Union’s Global Technical Assistance Facility (GTAF) highlighted their respective roles in the implementation of the CMP.  It was noted that the CMP is expected to provide rationalisation and consensus on the current and future Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) priority projects.

Participants from different African, European and Asian countries and entities underscored their  support for the CMP process and identified the needs for risk reduction to attract private sector investments as well as for starting the speedy deployment of renewables in Africa. They also highlighted the importance of transmission interconnections for the deployment of renewables.

The meeting concluded that there is a need for technical expertise and that the sustainability of the CMP process is paramount.

Other outcomes from the meeting were outlined as follows:

• The techno-economically optimal CMP projects should be implemented as soon as possible,
• The CMP is key for the rational selection of PIDA projects,
• National energy planning must be followed by financing in order to be implemented,
• The long-term outcomes of the CMP must be matched to the short-term challenges and needs in Africa.

Closing the meeting,  Dr. Ronald Roesch of IRENA noted that the deliberations will provide guidance for IRENA’s future programmes  in designing long-term energy scenarios.