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The Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) includes Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon and has severe energy issues just like the rest of Africa. While there are general analyses looking at the energy overview in Africa, the focus here is on the CEMAC region. It combines regional energy plans, policies, and investment scope to analyze the energy transition of the region. The research uses a matrix model which systematically identifies and addresses barriers to build a more sustainable, energy secure Central Africa. The region’s overdependence on fossil fuels remains one of the most pressing energy issues, with access to electricity remaining below 30 % in several CEMAC countries such as Chad and the Central African Republic (World Bank, 2023). This dependence contributes to rising energy costs, local environmental degradation, and stagnation in rural electrification. According to IEA (2024), Africa accounts for over 600 million people without access to electricity—majority of whom reside in Central Africa. This has greatly impeded the socio-economic development and growth. This paper focuses on assessment of the renewable resources’ potential in the CEMAC region with the purpose of analyzing solar, wind, hydropower, and biomass as sustainable energy options. Despite the availability of solar, hydro, and biomass resources, actual installed renewable energy capacity remains limited. For example, Cameroon, the most advanced in the CEMAC region, has less than 500 MW of operational renewable energy capacity compared to Morocco’s 4.5 GW (IRENA, 2024). Infrastructural limitations such as outdated grids and lack of rural interconnection account for over 60 % of the access gap, while renewable investment accounts for less than 5 % of total energy budgets in countries like Chad (AfDB, 2024). This study tackles these gaps by formulating a solution scheme in the form of a matrix aimed at solving the challenges posed by the integration of renewable energy. Through an all-inclusive and pragmatic perspective, the study analyzes the socio-economic environments of each CEMAC country in order to delineate precise obstacles hindering the application of renewable energy technologies. Adopting a broad view sets this work apart from other studies as it not only looks into the potential renewable energy resources in Africa, but also considers the socio-political context within which these resources are harnessed. It further examines the intersection of national development policies, regional energy integration, and foreign investment in the energy sector of the region. With the adoption of this approach, it is anticipated that Africa’s development will be more inclusive while strengthening energy dependence in the CEMAC region and responding to climate change issues. Additionally, it provides insightful recommendations on the status of the energy sector in Africa by conducting an in-depth review of implementing renewable energy. This analysis employs a strictly comparative approach analyzing the scope, practicality, cost, and effectiveness of policy implementation of renewable energy programs in various countries. This study articulates a novel approach towards resolving challenges related to energy transition by integrating these findings while serving the central Africa region towards having an energy future that is self-sufficient and more secure.
Dagal et al. (Wed,) studied this question.