Rabat - (Saba):
Local media reported that the Kingdom of Morocco is leading the African continent's hydropower jump in 2024.
The Energy Platform reported on Wednesday that hydropower capacity in Africa saw a significant increase last year thanks to five countries, led by Morocco. However, the development of further projects still faces significant challenges.
A recent report showed that 4,507 gigawatts (GW) of hydropower capacity will be added in Africa in 2024, up from 2 GW in the previous year. This is despite a decline in the amount of electricity generated from hydropower on the continent, to 167 terawatt-hours (TWh) last year, compared to 175 TWh in 2023, due to drought conditions that hit southern Africa.
Hydropower represents 20% of Africa's total electricity generation, and while ambitions to increase this share are being challenged by a lack of funding, total hydropower capacity rose to 47.3 GW by the end of last year, including 3,726 GW of pumped storage capacity.
The continent is exploiting only 11% of its available hydropower potential, estimated at more than 600 GW. Approved hydropower projects in Africa have reached 62.5 GW, but are stalled due to a lack of funding. These challenges include procurement risks, exchange rate fluctuations, and local community opposition to some projects.
The five African countries that led the addition of hydropower capacity in Africa last year were Tanzania (1.88 GW), Ethiopia (1.20 GW), Uganda (605 MW), Morocco (349 MW), and Cameroon (300 MW).