This study examines government strategies to promote private sector investment in renewable energy in four African countries—Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa. The case studies were purposively selected to represent different regions in Africa, diverse energy endowments, varying electricity sector structures, and distinct political economy contexts. Using qualitative methods, the study adopts a two-stage comparative design followed by typology development. In the first stage, it applies a most-similar-systems design approach to compare Morocco and South Africa. In the second stage, it shifts to a most-different-systems design approach, comparing countries that focus on utility-scale projects with private-sector participation (e.g., Morocco and South Africa) with those that focus on large-scale, grid-connected projects with public-sector investment (e.g., Ethiopia) and decentralized electrification (e.g., Nigeria). This approach enables a critical analysis of how divergent political economies, energy contexts, and risk-allocation strategies shape government programmes for renewable energy investment. Furthermore, the study develops a typology identifying four distinct strategies adopted by the countries: a state-led centralized investment model (Ethiopia), a co-development IPP model (Morocco), a competitive-auction IPP model (South Africa), and a decentralized electrification model (Nigeria). Policymakers in African countries need to ensure that strategies for renewable energy investment are compatible with domestic political economies while ensuring that associated risks are properly allocated. The typology developed in this study provides a diagnostic tool for policymakers to assess their own context. The key question is not 'which model is best?', but 'which model is most suited to the conditions of a country?'
Uduak Akpan (Tue,) studied this question.