Zambia, with global partners, accelerates off-grid solar projects to provide reliable, clean electricity for rural communities. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Zambia has made significant strides in improving electricity access, with the percentage of the population connected rising from 30% in 2017 to nearly 50% today

However, half of the population still lacks access, and innovative energy solutions will be needed to bridge this gap. While hydropower currently accounts for 80% of Zambia’s electricity generation, recent droughts have highlighted the vulnerabilities of relying on this single source.

To address this, the Zambian government, in partnership with the World Bank, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Africa Minigrid Development Association (AMDA), and other collaborators, is intensifying its efforts to expand off-grid solar energy across the nation.

"Our target is to have at least 200 solar mini-grids operational by 2030, ensuring that every rural district in Zambia has access to clean, affordable, and reliable electricity,” said Makozo Chikote, Zambia's minister of energy.

Solar home systems, which consist of rooftop panels offering power for lighting, phone charging, and essential appliances, alongside mini-grids providing electricity to entire villages, hold great potential to serve the 8.5 million Zambians still without electricity. These systems are the most cost-effective and practical solution for connecting remote communities, but developers are facing financial and technical challenges.

To address these issues, the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), COMESA, and AMDA are hosting a conference from April 1st to 3rd in Lusaka. The event brings together mini-grid developers, financiers, government officials, and development partners to review progress in mini-grid technology and discuss the barriers hindering their rapid deployment.

“Energy access changes people’s lives. It improves health and quality of life and helps create jobs and livelihoods that lift people out of poverty. The World Bank Group is partnering with the African Development Bank and other partners on Mission 300, an ambitious initiative to connect 300 million people to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 and accelerate development and poverty reduction. In Zambia, Mission 300 includes supporting an acceleration of the deployment of distributed renewable energy,” remarked Achim Fock, World Bank Country Manager for Zambia.

Zambia’s relatively low population density of 24 inhabitants per square kilometer makes extending the national electricity grid costly and challenging. To address these challenges, the World Bank supports Zambia’s electricity access initiatives, such as the Electricity Services Access Project (ESAP) and the Zambia-Tanzania Interconnector Project (ZTIP), both of which aim to expand affordable, sustainable energy access.

Husk Energy to power rice farm operations. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Husk Power has announced a commercial and industrial (C&I) solar power project in Nigeria’s rice-producing region with foods group Olam Agri

Under the partnership, Husk will deploy a 1.3 MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) system, integrated with an 860 kWh battery energy storage system (BESS), at Olam Agri’s rice operations in Rukubi, Nasarawa State.

The shift to solar power represents a step in Olam Agri’s efforts to cut diesel consumption and will continue the transition of agriculture to more sustainable energy infrastructure.

“The partnership with Olam Agri aligns with Husk’s broader goal of installing hundreds of MWs of C&I solar capacity in Nigeria and other regions of sub-Saharan Africa over the next five years,” said Olu Aruike, Husk’s country director.

Besides being the market leader in Nigeria’s community solar mini-grid industry, Husk is committed to partnering with commercial & industrial (C&I) businesses to decarbonise key sectors of Nigeria’s economy, including agriculture.”

Husk will supply power to Olam Agri under a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

The solar-battery hybrid system will enhance voltage stability, ensuring a reliable power supply while delivering fuel cost savings and substantially reducing carbon emissions.

This latest initiative builds on Olam Agri’s broader commitment to integrating sustainable energy across its operations in Nigeria and elsewhere.

In 2024, the Olam Agri rice farm introduced a solar farm to power its mill operations.

Beyond solar, the company is implementing additional energy-saving initiatives, including improving energy efficiency across its factories, adopting cleaner-burning fuels, and optimising production processes to minimise waste and emissions.

“Sustainability is at the heart of Olam Agri’s operations, and this partnership with Husk Power is a significant step towards reducing our carbon footprint while ensuring a stable and cost-effective energy supply,” said Anil Nair of Olam Agri in Nigeria.

“By transitioning to solar power, we are improving the efficiency of our rice production in Rukubi and contributing to Nigeria’s broader renewable energy goals. By implementing renewable energy solutions in Nigeria, Olam Agri is not just meeting its own needs but inspiring others to follow suit and help drive sustainability in the agricultural sector across Africa and beyond.”

The companies said in a statement that Nigeria’s government policies and regulations further support the partnership, encouraging private-sector investment in renewable energy and solar adoption in the industrial and agricultural sectors.

Nigeria’s C&I solar market is expanding, with over 550MW of new solar capacity set to be added between 2025 and 2029.

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Mission 300 initiative advances off-grid solar access, aiming to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania — A new push to expand off-grid solar solutions is gaining momentum following the recent Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit, where African Heads of State, private sector leaders, development partners, and civil society gathered to align on universal electricity access

Spearheaded by the World Bank Group and African Development Bank, Mission 300 aims to connect 300 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa to electricity by 2030.

At the heart of this initiative lies off-grid solar—positioned as the most cost-effective solution to deliver nearly half of the connections required to meet Mission 300 targets. With over 560 million people already benefiting from off-grid solar globally, and the majority in Africa, the model is proving its adaptability and transformative impact across households, institutions, and micro-enterprises.

The summit underscored that off-grid energy access not only enhances resilience and productivity but also presents a US$5.6bn opportunity in household savings and new income generation. Furthermore, off-grid solar is poised to energise two million micro-enterprises and create thousands of jobs in an industry already supporting more than 120,000 formal and informal workers continent-wide.

Financing off-grid growth

To accelerate deployment, the World Bank and its partners are calling for stronger financial commitments. Public funding, including subsidies and grants, is essential to de-risk investment in fragile and remote regions—home to 82% of Africa’s unelectrified population. Evidence from Nigeria’s National Electrification Program demonstrated rapid uptake when subsidies reduced the cost of solar home systems, connecting 5.5 million people in just two years.

Alongside public finance, private investment—through both debt and equity—remains a critical pillar. Platforms like Zafiri, which aim to mobilise US$1bn in patient equity, are unlocking new capital and bridging the funding gap for distributed renewable energy (DRE) companies. Innovative financing mechanisms, including local currency instruments and climate-linked finance, are also gaining traction.

Governments are central to this ecosystem. By embedding off-grid solar into national electrification plans, offering tax and tariff relief, and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies in favour of DRE investments, governments can catalyse a thriving off-grid industry. Kenya’s experience stands as a beacon—tax exemptions have enabled the country’s off-grid market to power more than 10% of its population, while also fostering solar adoption in agriculture and ICT sectors.

As Africa accelerates its energy transition, Mission 300 provides a timely and ambitious blueprint. With bold partnerships and continued innovation, distributed solar technologies can deliver on the promise of energy for all—ensuring no one is left behind.

Data centres are driving energy demand globally. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

AI is set to drive surging electricity demand from data centres, currently being rolled out in number across Africa, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA)

It poses a significant potential challenge for energy providers in sub-Saharan Africa, with the continent already lagging far behind other regions in terms of spare power capacity.

The IEA projects that electricity demand from data centres worldwide is set to more than double by 2030 to around 945 terawatt-hours (TWh), almost as much electricity as the whole of Japan uses today.

“AI is one of the biggest stories in the energy world today – but until now, policy makers and markets lacked the tools to fully understand the wide-ranging impacts,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol, launching a new report.

The rise in global electricity demand is likely to put pressure not only on Africa’s scarce power resources, but even more so in developed regions.

“The effects will be particularly strong in some countries. For example, in the United States, data centres are on course to account for almost half of the growth in electricity demand; in Japan, more than half; and in Malaysia, as much as one-fifth.”

The report notes that Africa has the lowest energy consumption at less than 1 kWh of data centre electricity consumption per capita in 2024, rising to slightly less than 2 kWh per capita by the end of the decade.

However, there are strong differences within the region, with South Africa showing strong growth and per-capita consumption more than 15 times larger than the continental average in 2030, with an intensity higher than 25 kWh per capita.

Moreover, despite the strong increase, data centre electricity demand growth still accounts for less than 10 per cent of global electricity demand growth between 2024 and 2030, the IEA notes.

Other key drivers, such as industry output growth and electrification, the deployment of electric vehicles (EVs), and the adoption of air conditioning, lead the way.

However, it notes, while the absolute growth may appear smaller, data centres, unlike EVs, tend to concentrate in specific locations, making their integration into the grid potentially more challenging.

A diverse range of energy sources will be tapped to meet data centres’ rising electricity needs, according to the report – though renewables and natural gas are set to take the lead due to their cost-competitiveness and availability in key markets.

Across all cases, renewables play a pivotal role in meeting the growing electricity demand, the report notes, however, fossil fuels remain important for meeting the near-term surge in demand up to 2030.

The long-term growth of renewables to meet rising AI and data centre demand could put pressure on the resources needed to complete new clean projects, especially as more developed regions race to build additional capacity.

A major consideration related to the rapid growth of AI and data centres is the demand for critical minerals, the report notes.

Apart from bulk materials like steel and concrete, the construction of data centres requires sizeable amounts of several minerals and metals, such as copper, aluminium, silicon, gallium, rare earth elements and battery minerals.

Here, Africa might also face the task of shoring up its own supply chains, rather than as a supplier of raw materials and commodities to the rest of the world.

“Securing the supply of affordable and reliable power for data centres is at the heart of the challenge of energy for AI,” the report notes.

“In particular, the growing expansion of AI data centres has amplified the urgency of addressing power equipment supply chain constraints.”

Countries that want to benefit from the potential of AI, the report adds, need to quickly accelerate new investments in electricity generation and grids, improve the efficiency and flexibility of data centres, and strengthen the dialogue between policy makers, the tech sector and the energy industry.

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