Energy struggles: renewable energy in Africa

"Energy struggles" is a research project on the political economy of energy transitions in sub-Saharan Africa. It aims to explain how renewable energy is prioritized in different countries.

Energy struggles is a four-year project (2021-2025) with partners in Tanzania, Ghana and Denmark. It is coordinated by Rasmus Hundsbæk Pedersen and financed through the Danida Fellowship Center (DFC).

Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash

https://twitter.com/EnergyStruggles

How we research this:

The Energy struggles project team uses multidisciplinary approaches to undertake research on the relative importance of technological capabilities, state capacity, and policy coalitions in the Tanzanian and Ghanaian energy sectors. We ask three research questions:

- First, what role the development of technological capabilities plays in the prioritisation of energy technologies?

- Secondly, whether and how the building of capacity in state organisations can facilitate the prioritization of new renewable energy?

- Thirdly, how different policy coalitions promote or impede new renewable energy in African countries?

Throughout, the project we pay particular attention to the role of access to energy services for the poor, which is a priority for both Tanzania and Ghana, as well as for Danish development assistance.

Our contributions:

Energy struggles’ overall objective is to contribute to a better understanding of how an energy transition can occur in Sub-Saharan African countries. The research objective is to analyse how new renewable energy is prioritized in policy formulation and implementation in Tanzania and Ghana. As part of this, the project develops a conceptual framework for the study of the political economy of energy, which can analyse and help explain the prioritization of energy technologies and projects in different countries.

Policy-wise, Energy struggles aims to provide evidence-based findings that can lead to more informed decision-making in partner countries with regard to (i) the factors that are important for the prioritization of different energy technologies, and (ii) how best to promote new renewable energy. The project is designed to enhance the capacities of the younger-level researchers involved in the project.

Researchers

Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai
Associate Professor of Development Politics at the University of Ghana
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Abdul-Bassit Abubakari
PhD Candidate at the University of Ghana
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Paula Edze
PhD Candidate, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana
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Ulrich Elmer Hansen
Senior Researcher, UNEP DTU partnership, Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Technical University of Denmark
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Thabit Jacob
Postdoctoral Researcher, Lund University
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Francis Kemausuor
Associate Professor, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana, Director, The Brew-Hammond Energy Centre, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana
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Gabriel Malima
PhD candidate, The University of Dar es Salaam
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Rasmus Hundsbæk Pedersen
Senior researcher, DIIS, Sustainable development and governance research unit
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Japhace Poncian
Lecturer, Department of History, Political Science and Development Studies, Mkwawa University College of Education (MUCE), Tanzania
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Gussai H. Sheikheldin
Research fellow with STIPRO (Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Research Organization), Tanzania
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Publications

Pedersen, R. H., Andersen, O. W., and I. Renkens (2021). The political economy of energy transitions in sub-Saharan Africa: contributions to an analytical framework. DIIS Working Paper 2021: 15.

Pedersen, R. H., et al. (2022). Energy transitions in sub-Saharan Africa are about more than mobilizing finance. DIIS Comment 5 January 2022.

Pedersen, R. H. (2022). Towards a political economy of renewable energy in Ghana: A review . MIASA Working Paper No. 2022(4). (pdf)

Poncian, J. and R. H. Pedersen (2023). The political economy of energy production in post-independence Tanzania: A review. DIIS Working Paper 2023: 01

Andersen, O. W. and R. H. Pedersen (2023). "The paradox of overcapacity in African energy sectors." Energy for Sustainable Development 72: 83-87.

A contested agenda: Energy transitions in lower-income African countries
Pedersen, R. H. & Winckler Andersen, O., 17 Feb 2023, In: Energy Policy. 175, 6 p.

Jacob, T. (2023). The double role of the state: the state as investor and mediator in the Tanzanian coal sector. In L. Buur, J. Macuane, F. Maganga, & R. Pedersen (Eds.), Land, Rights and the Politics of Investments in Africa: Ruling Elites, Investors and Populations in Natural Resource Investments. Edward Elgar Publishing

Outreach, in the media

Jacob, T.: Interview: ‘Tanzania's LNG project: State to begin delayed $30 billion project in 2023’ interview by China Global Television Network, July 2021

Jacob, T.: Chair of the Panel: ‘Climate and energy transition in Middle East and North Africa’ Fifth Annual GLD Conference, Brastad, Sweden, 22-26, May 2022

Jacob, T.: Panelist: ‘EU-Africa energy’ Panel of experts co-organized by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and Carnegie Corporation, Berlin 10-12, May 2022

Jacob, T.: Presentation: Political economy of coal in Africa in era of energy transition. Linnaeus University, Kalmar campus, Sweden, 27-28 April 2022

Jacob, T.: Presenter: ‘Competing energy visions in Kenya: The political economy of coal’ Presented at Work in Progress Seminar, School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg. 22, March 2022

Jacob, T.: Presenter: Energy transition meet energy nationalism. Africa and the aftermath of COP 26. Presented at Chalmers energy group, Division of Environmental Systems Analysis, Chalmers University of Technology,17, February 2022

Jacob, T.: Panelist: ‘Power to the People or the Industry? -The Tanzanian Energy Sector’. Discussion organized by the Tanzania-Germany network. 25 January 2022. Online via Zoom

Pedersen, R. H. Briefing of Holger K. Nielsen, Denmark’s special representative to the UN, on ‘Renewable energy in Africa’ at DIIS 4 Oct 2022

Pedersen, R. H. and O. W. Andersen (2022). "The paradox of overcapacity in Africa’s energy sector." Development Today 16 September 2022

Pedersen, R. H. and L. Buur (2022). "Lektor og seniorforsker: Gasboom er et tveægget sværd i Afrika." Politiken 3 September 2022

Pedersen, R. H. and O. W. Andersen (2022). "En omstilling til vedvarende energi i de fattige lande kræver mere end investeringer!" Globalnyt.dk 14 January 2022.

Pedersen, R. H.: Participation in online dialogue, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the 'How-to-Note' on energy and emission reductions. 28 January 2022

Poncian, J.: Interviewed 27 September 2022 for ROAPE ‘Breaking the influence of international capital in Africa – an interview with Japhace Poncian’

Poncian, J.: Winner of ROAPE’s Ruth First Prize is Japhace Poncian for his article on resource nationalism in Tanzania. July 2022

Poncian, J.: Interviewed in Bofin, P. (2022). Energy transition in Tanzania constrained. Published 28 March 2022 on. Accessed 30 March 2022

Flott, S. (2022). "Californiske computerspillere bruger mere strøm end hele Botswana." Nordjyske Stiftstidende 1 January 2022 (interview with Pedersen, R. H.)

Jacob, T.: (Discussant). Coal phaseout and contested justice claims, research seminar organized by Department of Human Geography, Division of Human Ecology, Lund University, 2023, 19 January

Jacob, T.: (Panelist). Critical minerals supply chain and renewable energy in Africa. Internal seminar organized by African Natural Resources Management and Investment Centre, African Development Bank, 2023, 15 March

Pedersen, R. H.: ‘De forskellige betingelser for grøn omstilling I afrikanske lande’, presentation 18 April 2023 at seminar in Ingeniørforeningen (IDA Global Development): Hvordan undgår vi hvide elefanter på Afrikas grønne vej?

Pedersen, R. H.: Article in Altinget 19 April 2023: Forsker: Danmark kan ikke være tjent med så sparsom repræsentation i det sydlige Afrika

Pedersen, R. H.: ‘The political economy of green transitions in Africa’, presentation at 'Food for Thought-meeting’ 21 April 2023 in the Department for Green Diplomacy and Climate (GDK), Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Jacob, T.: (Discussant). Reframing Power in Energy and infrastructure Projects. Seminar organized by School of Global Studies (University of Gothenburg), 2023, 19 May

Jacob, T.: (Chair). Rural Energy Transitions - Ruralising low-carbon energy and energising rural geographies. Internal research workshop at Chalmers energy group, Division of Environmental Systems Analysis, Chalmers University of Technology, 2023, 25 May

Pedersen, R. H.: ‘Aid for new renewable energy – trends and competing interests in Africa’s energy transitions’. Paper presentation 25 May 2023 at ReNEW 6th Nordic Challenges Conference: Nordic Challenges and Identities: Pasts, Presents, Futures

Pedersen, R. H.: Interview for Altinget 25 May 2023: Regeringen vil tættere på Afrika, men samtidig lukker Danmark ambassaden i Tanzania

Jacob, T.: Resource nationalism in the era of energy transition in Africa. Presented at internal seminar, at Institute for Ecological Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business, 2023, 06 June

Hansen, U. E.: Paper presentation ‘industrial return’ on the green transition: local linkage development in the wind turbine industry’, part of Special session SS01_01_02 at Global Conference on Economic Geography, 8/6–2022 (https://www.gceg.org/).

Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai

Asante, K., Abdulai, A-G., and Mohan, G. (2020), ‘The ‘new’ institutional politics of Ghana’s hydrocarbon’. ESID Working Paper, University of Manchester.

Hickey, S., Abdulai, A-G, Izama, A., and Mohan, G. (2020), ‘Responding to the commodity boom with varieties of resource nationalism: A political economy explanation for the different routes taken by Africa's new oil producers’. Extractive Industries and Society. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2020.06.021

Bebbington, A., Abdulai, A-G, Hinfelaar, M., Humphreys Bebbington D and Sanborn C. (2018), Governing Extractive Industries: Politics, Histories, Ideas. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Mosley, P., and Abdulai, A-G. (2019), ‘The political economy of progressive fiscal contracts in Africa and Latin America’. Development Policy Review. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12451

Mohan, G., Asante, K. P., and Abdulai, A-G. (2018), ‘Party politics and the political economy of Ghana’s oil’. New Political Economy. Vol. 23, Issue 3, pp. 274-289. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2017.1349087

Abdulai, A. G. (2017). ‘Competitive clientelism and the political economy of mining in Ghana’, ESID Working Paper 78. Manchester: Effective States and Inclusive Develoment Research Centre, The University of Manchester. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/dfid-research-outputs/competitive-clientelism-and-the-political-economy-of-mining-in-ghana

Bebbington, A., Abdulai, A-G, Hinfelaar, M., Humphreys Bebbington D., and Sanborn C (2017), ‘Political settlements and the governance of extractive industry: A comparative analysis of the long duree in Africa and Latin America’. ESID Working Paper No. 81. Manchester, UK: The University of Manchester. UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/dfid-research-outputs/political-settlements-and-the-governance-of-extractive-industry-a-comparative-analysis-of-the-longue-duree-in-africa-and-latin-america

Hickey, S., Abdulai, A-G., Izama, A., and Mohan, G. (2015), ‘The Politics of Governing Oil Effectively: A Comparative Study of Two New Oil -Rich States in Africa’. ESID Working paper 54, University of Manchester.

Paula Edze

Edze P. 2014 – 2021. Ghana SEforALL News.
Available at: http://energycom.gov.gh/renewables/se4all/newsletters

Edze P., Amankwa K., Ashie E., Benefoh D.T., Attieku S., et al. 2020. Chapter 4: Updates on Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Assessment; pp 78-166; Ghana’s Fourth National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Available at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Gh_NC4.pdf

Ahiataku-Togobo W., Tettey G., Ofosu Ahenkorah A.K., Kemausuor F., Edze P., et al. 2019. Ghana Renewable Energy Master Plan.
Available at: http://www.energycom.gov.gh/files/Renewable-Energy-Masterplan-February-2019.pdf

Amankwa K., Edze P., Ashie E., Abrokwa M., Duah C., et al. 2018. Chapter 4: Mitigation Actions and Their Effects; pp 22-46; Ghana’s Second Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Available at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/gh_bur2_rev-2.pdf

Dzobo M., Ashie E., Edze P., Amankwa K., Aryeetey H., et al. 2015. Chapter 3: Information on Mitigation Actions and Their Effects; pp 38-44; Ghana’s First Biennial Update Report.
Available at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/GHNBUR1.pdf

Edze P. and Edjekumhene I. 2011. Career Guide to the Oil and Gas Industry in Ghana.

Edze P. and Edjekumhene I. 2010. A Glossary of Selected Oil and Gas Terminologies.

Edze P. and Edjekumhene I. 2010. Ghana’s Emerging Petroleum Industry: What Stakeholders Need to Know.

Ulrich Elmer Hansen

Hansen, U., Nygaard, I., Morris, M., Robbins, G., 2021. Servicification of manufacturing in global value chains: upgrading of local suppliers of embedded services in the South African market for wind turbines, Journal of Development Studies (In Press).

Morris, M., Robbins, G., Hansen, U., Nygaard, I., 2021. The wind energy global value chain localisation and industrial policy failure in South Africa, Journal of International Business Policy, https://doi.org/10.1057/s42214-021-00123-8

Hernández, A., Bolwig, S., Hansen, U., 2021 When policy mixes meet firm diversification: sugar-industry investment in bagasse cogeneration in Mexico (2007–2020), Energy Research and Social Science 79, 102171

Davy, E., Hansen, U., I Nygaard, 2021. Dual embeddedness? Innovation capabilities, multinational subsidiaries, and solar power development in South Africa, Energy Research and Social Science 78, 1021457.

Lema, R., Bhamidipati, L., Gregersen, C., Hansen, U., Kirchherr, J., 2021. China’s investments in renewable energy in Africa: Creating co-benefits or just cashing-in? World Development, 141 105365

Bhamidipati, L., Hansen, U., 2021. Unpacking local agency in China–Africa relations: Frictional encounters and development outcomes of solar power in Kenya, Geoforum (In Press)

Thabit Jacob

Ayhan, SH. and Jacob, T. (2022). Competing energy visions in Kenya: The political economy of coal. In Jakob, M., & Steckel, J. (Eds.), The Political Economy of Coal: Obstacles to Clean Energy Transitions". Routledge | Taylor & Francis Group

Jacob, T. (2020). When good intentions turn bad: The unintended consequences of the 2016 Tanzanian coal import ban. The Extractive Industries and Society, 7(2), 337-340.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2019.02.009

Pedersen, R. H., Jacob, T. and P. Bofin (2020). From moderate to radical resource nationalism in the boom era: Pockets of eﬀectiveness under stress in ‘new oil’ Tanzania. The Extractive Industries and Society 7: 1211–1218.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2020.03.014

Buur, L., Pedersen, R. H., Nystrand, M. J., Macuane, J. J., and T. Jacob (2020). The politics of natural resource investments and rights in Africa: A theoretical approach. The Extractive Industries and Society 7(3): 918-930.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2020.06.004

Bofin, P., Pedersen, R. H., and T. Jacob (2020). The politics of power and natural gas in Tanzania: How political settlement dynamics shapes deals in a ‘new oil’ country. ESID Working Paper No. 149.
https://www.effective-states.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/esid_wp_149_bofin_pedersen_jacob.pdf

Pedersen, R. H. and T. Jacob (2019). Resurgent resource nationalism in Tanzania's petroleum sector. Oxford Energy Forum 117.
https://www.oxfordenergy.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/OEF-117.pdf

Jacob, T., & Pedersen, R. H. (2018). New resource nationalism? Continuity and change in Tanzania’s extractive industries. The Extractive Industries and Society, 5(2), 287-292.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2018.02.001

Jacob, T. (2018). State caught in the middle: Coal extraction and community struggles in Tanzania. DIIS Working Paper (8). Danish Institute for International Studies Copenhagen, Denmark.
http://pure.diis.dk/ws/files/2502841/DIIS_Working_Paper_2018_8_FINAL.pdf

Jacob, T. (2017). Competing energy narratives in Tanzania: Towards the political economy of coal. African Affairs, 116(463), 341-353.
https://doi.org/10.1093/afraf/adx002

Pedersen, R. H. and T. Jacob (2017). Reconfigured state-community relations in Africa’s extractive sectors: insights from post-liberalisation Tanzania. The Extractive Industries and Society 4: 915-922.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2017.07.004

Jacob, T. (2017). D. Ockwell, R. Byrne, Sustainable Energy for All: Innovation, Technology and Pro-Poor Green Transformations, Routledge (2017). Energy Research & Social Science, 34, 37-38.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2017.05.032

Francis Kemausuor

Ezealigo, U. S., Ezealigo, B. N., Plaza, M. G., Dim, E. N., Kemausuor, F., Achenie, L. E. K., & Onwualu, A. P. (2022). Preliminary characterisation and valorisation of Ficus benjamina fruits for biofuel application. Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-021-02230-1

Ezealigo, U. S., Ezealigo, B. N., Kemausuor, F., Achenie, L. E. K., & Onwualu, A. P. (2021). Biomass Valorization to Bioenergy: Assessment of Biomass Residues’ Availability and Bioenergy Potential in Nigeria. Sustainability, 13(24), 13806. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413806

Selormey, G. K., Barnes, B., Kemausuor, F., & Darkwah, L. (2021). A review of anaerobic digestion of slaughterhouse waste: Effect of selected operational and environmental parameters on anaerobic biodegradability. Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11157-021-09596-8

Offei, F., Koranteng, L. D., & Kemausuor, F. (2021). Integrated bioethanol and briquette recovery from rice husk: A biorefinery analysis. Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-021-01731-3

Black, M. J., Roy, A., Twinomunuji, E., Kemausuor, F., Oduro, R., Leach, M., Sadhukhan, J., & Murphy, R. (2021). Bottled Biogas—An Opportunity for Clean Cooking in Ghana and Uganda. Energies, 14(13), 3856. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14133856

Chen, K. C., Leach, M., Black, M. J., Tesfamichael, M., Kemausuor, F., Littlewood, P., Marker, T., Mwabonje, O., Mulugetta, Y., Murphy, R. J., Diaz-Chavez, R., Hauge, J., Saleeby, D., Evans, A. W., & Puzzolo, E. (2021). BioLPG for Clean Cooking in Sub-Saharan Africa: Present and Future Feasibility of Technologies, Feedstocks, Enabling Conditions and Financing. Energies, 14(13), 3916. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14133916

Ossei-Bremang, R. N., & Kemausuor, F. (2021). A decision support system for the selection of sustainable biomass resources for bioenergy production. Environment Systems and Decisions. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10669-021-09810-6

Boafo-Mensah, G., Neba, F. A., Tornyeviadzi, H. M., Seidu, R., Darkwa, K. M., & Kemausuor, F. (2021). Modelling the performance potential of forced and natural-draft biomass cookstoves using a hybrid Entropy-TOPSIS approach. Biomass and Bioenergy, 150, 106106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2021.106106

Rasmus Hundsbæk Pedersen

Pedersen, R. H., Andersen, O. W., and I. Renkens (2021). The political economy of energy transitions in sub-Saharan Africa: contributions to an analytical framework. DIIS Working Paper 2021: 15.
https://www.diis.dk/en/research/the-political-economy-of-energy-transitions-in-sub-saharan-africa-contributions-to-an

Pedersen, R. H., et al. (2022). Energy transitions in sub-Saharan Africa are about more than mobilizing finance. DIIS Comment 5 January 2022.
https://www.diis.dk/en/research/energy-transitions-in-sub-saharan-africa-are-about-more-than-mobilizing-finance.

Pedersen, R. H. and O. W. Andersen (2021). Renewable energy in Africa is about more than climate change. DIIS Policy Brief March 2021.
https://www.diis.dk/en/research/renewable-energy-in-africa-is-about-more-than-climate-change

Pedersen, R. H., et al. (2020). Trends in development assistance to new nenewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa. DIIS Working Paper 2020: 12.
https://www.diis.dk/en/research/renewable-energy-poses-opportunities-and-challenges-in-africa

Pedersen, R. H. and P. Bofin (2019). Muted market signals: politics, petroleum investments and regulatory developments in Tanzania. Journal of Eastern African Studies: 1-19.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17531055.2019.1605770

Buur, L., et al. (2019). Understanding the three key relationships in natural resource investments in Africa: An analytical framework. The Extractive Industries and Society 6(4): 1195-1204.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214790X1930142X

Bofin, P. and R. H. Pedersen (2019). Challenging prospects for upstream contracting in Tanzania. Oxford Energy Forum 117.
https://www.oxfordenergy.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/OEF-117.pdf

Jacob, T. and R. H. Pedersen (2018). New resource nationalism? Continuity and change in Tanzania’s extractive industries. The Extractive Industries and Society 5(2): 287-292.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214790X18300029

Pedersen, R. H. and O. Kweka (2017). The political economy of petroleum investments and land acquisition standards in Africa: The case of Tanzania. Resources Policy 52: 217-225.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420716303580?casa_token=xbhzUZsQkJUAAAAA:OMKQwdfqH7eTha_BZgXgSyu-v-zuhp2PLw-KM5kPpWCoRwAEYw3lVzB1VWxaCTfmxXVFJC1QZg

Bofin, P. and R. H. Pedersen (2017). Tanzania's oil and gas contract regime, investments and markets. DIIS Working Paper 2017:1, DIIS.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep13468.pdf?acceptTC=true&coverpage=false&addFooter=false

Pedersen, R. H., Jacob, T., Maganga, F., and O. Kweka (2016). Rights to land and extractive resources in Tanzania (1/2): The history. DIIS Working Paper 2016: 11. DIIS.
https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/148326

Jacob, T., Pedersen, R. H., Maganga, F., and O. Kweka (2016). Rights to land and natural resources in Tanzania (2/2): The return of the state. DIIS Working Paper 2016: 12. DIIS.
https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/148327/1/874005337.pdf

Pedersen, R. H. and P. Bofin (2015). The politics of gas contract negotiations in Tanzania: a review. DIIS Working Paper 2015: 03. Copenhagen, Denmark, DIIS.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep13428.pdf?acceptTC=true&coverpage=false&addFooter=false

Pedersen, R. H. (2014). The Politics of Oil/Gas Contract Negotiations in sub-Saharan Africa. In: Udviklingspolitiske tendenser. Udviklingsfinansiering. DIIS Report. O. Therkildsen, R. H. Pedersen, P. Gibbon and C. Halmbloch. Copenhagen, Denmark, DIIS: 27-46.