Big Four accountancy firm KPMG has published a whitepaper detailing US$250 billion in potential investment opportunities in solar, wind and green hydrogen to unlock the climate transition across Africa. The continent’s wind potential is so substantial that it could meet electricity demand 250 times over, according to the report, yet Africa only uses 0.01% of its wind potential. Solar is also underfinanced, KPMG said, noting that Africa’s current solar potential is estimated to be over a thousand times current solar power electricity generation capacity. The report added that the use of low-carbon across Africa is similarly “minimal”, yet the continent has “some of the greatest potential worldwide” for producing hydrogen and ammonia from renewables at relatively low cost. Pieter Scholtz, KPMG’s ESG Africa Partner Lead, said: “It is unlikely that global climate change mitigation efforts can be successful without taking Africa into consideration. The continent offers some of the planet’s biggest and most profitable option for investments in the global energy transition.”
