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Eskom Calls for Continental Collaboration to Support Renewable Investment
South African power utility Eskom has called on the development of continental policies to govern the implementation of renewable energy in Africa. According to the state utility, these policies have the potential to build confidence in Africa’s market.
The strategy was announced by Rivoningo Mnisi, Group Executive for Renewables at Eskom during the Balancing Investment Strategies and the Integration of Renewables into the Energy Mix panel session at African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energies 2025, citing successful case studies in China and the EU.
“We need to learn from other countries around the world. In Africa, we’ve got a lot of small companies, but what we need is an African champion that we can rally around,” Mnisi stated.
While its core renewable strategy remains focused on South Africa’s Just Energy Transition – which includes the decommissioning coal plants, expansion of solar and wind power, and the launch of a dedicated renewable subsidiary – Eskom’s regional footprint via the Southern African Power Pool and its Trans-African Projects, positions it to support broader harmonized policies across the continent.
According to Mnisi, a move to develop continental policies could streamline cross-border electricity trade, strengthen grid infrastructure, and enable coordinated deployment of renewable capacity.
“We are seeing more and more hoops for companies to jump through when trying to add new projects to Africa’s power grid. So, we need to come up with harmonized solutions,” stated Grant Berndsen, CEO of energy engineering solutions provider Terra Firma.
Echoing Mnisi’s sentiment, Ademola Ogunbanjo, President and CEO of solar energy company Oando Clean Energy, highlighted the company’s targets to expand operations across Africa. In this pursuit, the company is positioning itself as a leader in Africa’s energy transition by focusing on a wide range of renewables including solar, wind, natural gas and biofuels.
“Our mandate is to design and develop climate-friendly energy projects. We have projects across about 67 verticals, starting from Nigeria and looking to grow across the continent,” Ogunbanjo stated.