File photo shows show-goers at the Energy Show in Johannesburg, South Africa, Feb. 21, 2012.(Xinhua/Li Qihua)
NAIROBI, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- A global energy body said Thursday it will assist Africa in developing a single renewable energy market.
Adnan Amin, director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), told Xinhua in Nairobi that they have already started training African countries' energy regulators on how to develop common regulatory framework for renewable energy.
"We believe that a single renewable energy market will create a much bigger scale for investment for renewable power generation in Africa," Amin said on the sidelines of the launch of Kenya's National Electrification Strategy.
Amin said that a continent-wide interconnected market for renewable electricity will result in lower cost and reliable electricity supply for African consumers.
He said that the single energy market is part of the program for infrastructure development by the African Union's New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD).
He noted that the speed at which the single market will be operational will depend on how fast African governments reform their laws to promote cross border electricity trade.
He observed that currently there are different tariffs, laws and tax incentives for the energy sector across the region.
The IRENA official said that the continent has already made progress in connecting national electricity grids.
"We already have interconnectors between the east, central, west and southern African power pools," he added.
He said that inter-regional energy trade will allow the continent to develop resilient electricity systems that can tap energy from many more sources.
Amin said that about 60 percent of the global population without access to electricity services lives in sub-Saharan Africa and renewable energy could play a central role to ensure Africa achieves universal electricity access.