Clean-energy spending skyrockets in Africa

African nations still rank at the bottom in terms of human well being and development, but 2011 brought at least one reason to hope change is coming: a massive investment in renewable energy.

Total spending on wind, solar, hydro and other clean-energy development in Africa shot up to $3.6 billion last year — more than four times as much as was invested in 2004 ($750 million), according to Nigeria’s Bank of Industry. Even so, that growth lags behind renewables expansion on a global scale, where investment has increased more than six-fold, from $33 billion in 2004 to $211 billion in 2011.

Still, Africa’s clean-energy growth is encouraging news, especially in light of the fact that more than 600 million people on the continent — including 70 percent of the sub-Saharan population — don’t have access to electricity, according to figures from the United Nations.

It also appears that renewables development in Africa is likely to continue on a fast track: a 2011 report from Frost & Sullivan projects clean-energy investment will expand to $57 billion by 2020. That’s almost 16 times more than was spent last year.

You’ll find more details on the specifics — spending by energy source, potential obstacles, etc. — at Oil Price in a new post that explores the continent’s growing potential for renewable-power development.