Dynamic Role of Renewable Eenrgy to Strengthen Energy Security and Energy Poverty Reduction: Mediating Role of Low Carbon Finance

Abstract

This paper provides an empirical analysis of deploying renewables in Africa's five most populous countries for 2001-2019. It analyzed these factors to see how they impact deploying renewables by employing panel data using the pooled ordinary least squared(OLS) at frim level analysis to increase energy security and to reduce energy poverty. After the analysis, we proved that access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking needs the study countries to deploy renewables as most Africans cook with polluting fuels having detrimental health implications. The analyses further revealed that these countries generate a chunk of their electricity from fossil fuel sources, making it imperative to jettison fossil fuels and embrace renewables cheaper and environmentally friendly. The analysis also showed that the Quality of regulation in a country is vitally important to scaling up renewables in the study countries since the right policy tools underpin the transition. Furthermore, the lack of Electrification is important to developing renewal energy sources in the study countries. Sub-Saharan Africa has about nearly 600 million people not having access to electricity. Thus deploying renewables will bridge the access gap. Cleaner energies will be the panacea to the study countries’ energy insecurity situation and bridge the access gap. The study countries have the technical and theoretical potential for all the renewable energies needed to ensure sustainable consumption. What is needed is to institute cornerstone financial policy de-risking instruments to crowd in private capital since the renewables sector is perceived as a high-risk area.