• Company targets 40-45% of overseas revenue from Africa by 2030
  

• Projects span hydropower, solar, and gas; new sites planned across continent
  

China’s state-owned PowerChina plans to expand its presence in Africa by focusing heavily on renewable energy projects, a company executive said at the first Bloomberg Summit on African Business in Johannesburg.

The engineering and power project developer aims to increase its overseas revenue and diversify its energy portfolio through hydropower, solar, and gas projects across the continent. Chen Guanfu, a senior executive at the company, said Africa currently generates about 30 percent of PowerChina’s international revenue. He said the figure could rise to between 40 and 45 percent by 2030, with the company targeting operations in almost every African country within five years.

Even as Chinese lending to African governments has fallen since 2016, PowerChina is pressing ahead with new investments and shifting its focus toward renewables.

In South Africa, the company’s activities include solar projects and the Redstone concentrated solar power plant. PowerChina has also completed major projects such as the Adama wind farm in Ethiopia. The hybrid Oya project in South Africa was developed to help stabilize power from intermittent sources and is intended as a pilot model for use in other regions.

In Zambia, PowerChina finished a 100-megawatt solar plant in June. The electricity from that facility will supply First Quantum Minerals, one of the country’s leading copper producers.

PowerChina sees Africa as a key growth market. Its increased emphasis on renewable energy aligns with rising electricity demand across the continent and with the company’s global energy transition strategy. The pace of its expansion in Africa will depend on factors including local partnerships, regulatory conditions and the profitability of renewable projects.

Olivier de Souza