Country and Regional Projects in Africa

NREL supports initiatives across Africa that enhance resilience, reliability, security, and affordability through advanced energy systems and data-driven decision-making tools.

Chad

NREL worked with partners in Chad to address power shortages in N’Djamena through resilient energy planning. Using NREL’s open-source Engage tool, we developed a least-cost capacity expansion model, now available in French and online, to  assist the Government of Chad in evaluating least-cost power generation options and support informed decision-making for a more reliable power system.

Egypt

In collaboration with other national labs, NREL supported Egypt in establishing an in-house energy modeling unit, explored carbon capture and storage options, evaluated options to improve power system reliability, and enhanced regional knowledge exchange and peer-learning programs.

Ghana

NREL partnered with the Government of Ghana and other energy institutions to implement strategies to meet long-term electricity demand and plan for an advanced, flexible, reliable, and cost-effective power system. Specific activities include analysis and modeling support (e.g., load flow, forecasting) of large-scale solar, wind, storage, and hybrid systems; grid code assessments; and capacity building to understand grid impacts of distributed generation deployment.

Kenya

NREL is working with the Government of Kenya to provide support for the development of an Integrated Resource Plan for energy development.  The plan will evaluate least-energy generation options—including natural gas, nuclear, geothermal, and renewable energy options—to meet Kenya’s growing energy demand. NREL will also support pilot efforts to overcome barriers to private capital flow and mobilize private investment to implement energy sector development priorities in Kenya.

Malawi

NREL is working with the national utility, ESCOM, to deploy and operate a 20-MW battery energy storage pilot project outside of the capital of Lilongwe. The project is the first of its kind for both Malawi and the region and will allow ESCOM to address frequency and voltage variations and enhance overall reliability of Malawi’s growing power grid.

Morocco

We're teaming with Morocco to support renewable energy grid integration studies, capacity building, and evaluation of pathways and policies for achieving its renewable energy goals. We may also assist Morocco with analyzing economic development impacts of alternative renewable energy systems and development pathways.

Nigeria

NREL and other national laboratory partners are working with Nigerian utilities, oil and gas operators, and government agencies to accelerate deployment of advanced energy solutions that increase affordability and reliability of Nigeria’s energy system. These activities include trainings and assessments for methane monitoring, capture, and commercialization technologies and approaches; piloting distributed energy resource projects with local distribution utilities to reduce costs and enhance system reliability; and providing in-depth training on battery energy storage solution planning, procurement, and integration.

South Africa

NREL is working with ESKOM and the South African government to advance renewable energy integration and improve energy infrastructure. Efforts include modeling electricity investment pathways, assessing transmission impacts, and supporting municipalities with resource planning and grid operations.

Through the Global Power System Transformation Consortium, NREL is addressing system inertia and contingency analysis with ESKOM and fostering knowledge exchange through study tours and technical conferences.

NREL also collaborated with the Southern African Power Pool on regulatory reforms to enhance regional energy accessibility and reliability.

Tanzania

NREL is supporting Tanzania’s renewable energy efforts by advising on mini-grid standards and business models and developing a curriculum for off-grid solar PV installer training. We are also helping integrate renewable energy into the national grid by providing technical analysis; power system modeling tools; and capacity building for forecasting, system operations, and flexibility assessments.

Tunisia

NREL and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are working with Tunisia on using open-source tools to evaluate the impacts of distributed energy resources—such as solar PV, battery storage, and electric vehicles—on the grid. We are also advancing energy efficiency through updating air conditioner standards, assessing building energy performance, and developing financing solutions for energy retrofits.

Regional Support

NREL provides technical and financial support for several regional programs that include communities of practice and technical collaboration across countries on mini-grid development, advanced energy modeling, isolated power systems  to power crop production and processing, and energy investment mobilization. These activities engage practitioners from more than 23 African countries.

NREL is also building on its battery energy storage work in Malawi and Nigeria to provide a platform for in-depth training and technical collaboration to support battery energy storage scale-up and replication across the region.