China's renewable energy pitch to Africa: Too much power?

DW (English)

Africa needs reliable electricity, and China's offer of renewable energy projects is enticing. But could flooding the market with cheap reneawables decimate homegrown businesses?

Transcript

00:00Let's look at China's latest pitch to Africa's leaders.

00:0330 clean energy projects, 1 million jobs, and financial aid of $50.7 billion in the next three years.

00:12Sounds great, right? Especially the clean energy part.

00:15After all, even big African economies like South Africa and Nigeria desperately need reliable electricity.

00:23But if it's so great, why have the European Union and the United States imposed

00:29massive trade tariffs on Chinese renewables, from solar panels to electric vehicles?

00:34Welcome to the Flipside.

00:37Green transition, green energy is going to be a big part of China-Africa relationship in the future.

00:43And especially since many African countries are facing energy deficits that's impacting the development process.

00:51You see, almost 1.4 billion people live on the African continent,

00:56and 70% of people in sub-Saharan Africa are under the age of 30.

01:01That's a massive market for the future.

01:04China recognizes this, and that's why its trade with Africa has grown by about 17% each year since 2000.

01:12And could it be that renewables are the next frontier?

01:16China will be able today, by providing those source of energy and those source of solution,

01:21to be and to even strengthen its position as Africa's main economic and trade partners.

01:27China will also be selling its own product.

01:29Wait, surely that can't be good news for Africa's own fledgling renewables industries.

01:36After all, most trade deals with China have conditions.

01:40Often, that Chinese technology should only be used with other Chinese products.

01:44There definitely is this concern that China's green energy push in Africa

01:48could undercut local energy industries, especially in Kenya.

01:52China has this ability to fund these large-scale projects at low cost,

01:56which makes them competitive and can definitely overwhelm local companies.

02:02South Africa, for instance, recently introduced 10% import tariffs on solar panels to protect local industry.

02:10Or African renewable energy companies could copy China's own playbook.

02:15If played correctly, what Kenya could do is have these Chinese companies come in,

02:21as they already are, China's heavily involved in geothermal in Kenya,

02:26and teach local players how to run their own energy industries.

02:32That's the flip side.

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