BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. A proper financing system has to be introduced in order to boost the deployment of renewable energy sources in the African continent, Ibrahim Yacouba, Minister of Energy and Renewable Energy of the Republic of Niger, said, addressing the 9th Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, Trend reports.
"We have great solar potential, as well as wind and hydro power. But in order to use this potential and make it available to everyone, several conditions must be met," he said.
According to the minister, the challenges Africa has in terms of access to energy and electricity are very high.
"Only 20 percent of our population have access to electricity in rural areas even less. However, given those difficulties, the potential for renewable energy development is still very high," he noted.
"How can we find financing in order to accompany the deployment of renewables in our countries? The situation of our country and the capabilities of our partners are not sufficient. We have to introduce a financing system that fits the renewables. We plead to have a development bank for renewables. We need to have realistic conditions that are adapted to the renewable energies. We need a tax jurisdiction that matches that. Today people are working on that outside of Africa. But to import that into Africa is very important," the minister explained.
As Yacouba pointed out, proper regulation system needs to be introduced, so that the investment, the use, and the development of energy products is easier and done in a harmonized way in a majority of African countries.