African countries breathe new life into ageing hydropower

August 21, 2025

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Hydropower accounts for about 20% of Africa’s total electricity generation. But many plants are old, with nearly half of the continent’s hydropower assets more than 30 years old and operating below capacity. To address this, several countries are pursuing refurbishment programs. This week, Kenya secured $64 million to revive one of its oldest hydro plants.

  • The funding package includes a $40.7 million loan from Germany and a $23.3 million grant from the EU. It will be used to modernise the 64-year-old Gogo hydropower plant, boosting its capacity fourfold to 8.6 MW.

  • Refurbishing existing hydropower plants is emerging as the fastest and most cost-effective way to add new capacity, compared to building new plants from scratch. It uses existing infrastructure, reduces capital outlay and construction time.

  • Our take: While refurbishment lowers costs and adds capacity, diversification remains critical for long-term resilience… Read more (2 min)

In July, African countries secured a record $13.6 billion in energy funding, nearly four times the amount from June. The bulk of this financing went to hydropower and grid infrastructure projects, which are increasingly attracting large-scale investments. The single largest pledge was a $6.4 billion commitment from the World Bank for a hydro project in Mozambique.

  • The increased funding, however, is not evenly distributed. Only 14 countries received support, with the top four —Mozambique, Kenya, Mauritania, and South Africa —accounting for over 80% of the total funding in July.

  • Development finance institutions and multilateral banks continue to provide concessional loans and grants, offering hope for the sector’s growth by de-risking large-scale projects to attract private capital.

  • Our take: Concentrated funding risks widening regional disparities instead of closing gaps… Read more (2 min)

Over the past week in renewables, around 210 jobs have been advertised by energy firms across the continent. Sun King is on its most aggressive hiring spree yet, with over 30 open positions in 6 different countries. The company is mainly recruiting for supply, distribution and warehouse operation roles after getting a total of $236 million in funding.

  • In terms of regional dominance, southern Africa surpassed other regions with more than half the openings. East Africa and West Africa follow, respectively, with a majority of the companies offering off-grid solutions.  

  • We have observed that Operations & Maintenance (O&M) positions are gaining traction, particularly in South Africa. This reflects the broader trend of projects moving from construction to completion, creating demand for O&M skills.

  • Our take: Access the full list of jobs here (4 min)

Students visit the African Centre for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology in Cameroon

 

Events

🗓️ Register for the C&I Energy + Storage Summit (Aug 28)

🗓️ Participate in the Solar Week Egypt 2025: Conference & Awards (Sep 3)

🗓️ Be at the Energy Forum for Africa event (Sep 10)

Various 

⚡ Qair raises funds to support a floating solar project in Seychelles

🤝 AEC establishes Shanghai office to strengthen China-Africa energy partnership

🔋 Egypt & Tokyo Metropolitan Government collaborate on green hydrogen 

Seen on LinkedIn 

Segun Odukoya, ESG Manager at Rensource Energy, says, “Africa's ESG workforce is growing, but not fast enough. The demand for ESG-skilled professionals across sectors like energy, finance, and manufacturing is surging, yet capacity building lags.”