Sub-Saharan Africa’s power generation capacity is projected to surge 4% annually through 2040, and its current energy mix—which is today dominated by hydro and coal—will likely be more diversified as interest rises in renewables such as solar and wind, General Electric (GE) said in a white paper surveying market opportunities in the region that it released in May.

The region is characterized by a seeming “over-dependence on governments” to resolve an energy dilemma: “Governments are faced with investment, policy and regulatory framework challenges that oftentimes hinder their ability to fulfill the responsibility of providing affordable and reliable power,” the white paper says. However, with increasingly diverse funding from public and private sources, including innovative partnerships with private investors and independent power producers (IPPs), “the current narrative that two out of three people in the region needs access to electricity is expected to change,” it says. Among major trends the white paper highlights are that IPPs and public-private partnerships (PPP) will account for 35% of the region’s installed capacity, excluding South Africa, by 2020.…

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