Abstract
Africa needs to increase electricity production to improve electricity access. For informed decision making, there is a need for reliable, findable, high-quality, open access and spatially distributed power plant data with associated water use and CO2 emissions amounts. Here we present a detailed spatial inventory of operational, under construction and planned African power plants from 2020 until 2030, covering 3,139 individual plants, the result of an intensive data mining effort. This inventory forecasts a 57% increase to 1,787,858 Gigawatthours in electricity production from 2023 to 2030. Related water use and CO2 emissions increase substantially, showing trade-offs in water and carbon intensity of different fuel types. Africa is stepping up in planning and constructing additional power plants, with renewables’ share growing from 19% to 34%. However, the increase in hydropower puts additional pressure on available water resources. Current power plant construction falls slightly short on commitments in the nationally determined contributions.
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Acknowledgements
This research, led by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), was carried out under the CGIAR Policy innovations Science Programme (www.cgiar.org/cgiar-research-porfolio-2025-2030/policy-innovations) and the DIWASA (Digital Innovations for Water Secure Africa) project (www.iwmi.org/projects/diwasa/). The authors would like to thank all funders who supported this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund (www.cgiar.org/funders) as well as the Helmsley Charitable Trust. D.V., S.D.V-J, P.W.G.-L. and B.H. received funding from the CGIAR Trust Fund, whereas D.V. received funding from the Helmsley Charitable Trust.
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Vaca-Jiménez, S.D., Gerbens-Leenes, P.W., Holmatov, B. et al. Forecast on Africa’s power production up to 2030 with related water use and CO2 emissions.
Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72692-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72692-2
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