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Offshore wind could help South Africa strengthen its energy security, support economic growth, and advance its long-term climate goals.  “South Africa is endowed with nearly 2,800 km of coastline, globally competitive offshore wind resources, strategic ports and coastal industrial corridors. The value of this work is that it strengthens South Africa’s evidence base and preserves future choices.” Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Minister of Electricity and Energy, the Government of South AfricaThe new report, A Strategic Framework for Offshore Wind Development in South Africa, developed by the World Bank Group in close collaboration with the Government of South Africa’s Department of Electricity and Energy, explores how offshore wind could contribute to a more reliable electricity system while creating opportunities for jobs, industrial development, and new clean energy industries.The report identifies around 95 GW of offshore wind technical potential in suitable areas along South Africa’s coastline and assesses pathways for developing the sector over the coming decades. Under its high-growth scenario, offshore wind development could support more than 300,000 full-time equivalent job years, contribute approximately US$6.7 billion in employment wages, reduce electricity generation emissions by up to 530 MtCO₂ by 2050, and help enable emerging industries such as green hydrogen.Drawing on three years of analysis and extensive engagement with government, industry, civil society, and marine stakeholders, the report provides practical guidance on the actions needed to establish a successful offshore wind sector. It highlights the importance of long-term planning, enabling policy and regulatory frameworks, investment in grid and port infrastructure, skills development, and supply chain growth to support future deployment.We are grateful to our partners for their contributions to this report: the Global Offshore Wind Alliance, the Carbon Trust, with support from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Meridian Economics, and with valuable input from The Biodiversity Consultancy. 

Join ESMAP’s Hydrogen for Development Partnership H4D  webinar organized as a joint effort with UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) to highlight key findings from their latest publication on green ammonia’s role in transforming the fertilizer sector, with a focus on North Africa, through a new joint infographic on clean hydrogen in industrial applications.Participants will gain insights into the global fertilizer market, regional production and trade dynamics, and the significant opportunities for North African countries to leverage their abundant renewable energy resources to become leading producers of green ammonia.Join us to explore the policy frameworks, financing mechanisms, infrastructure investments, and capacity-building efforts needed to unlock green ammonia’s full potential, strengthening food systems, enhancing energy security, and advancing industrial decarbonization in developing and transition economies.

This report assesses Myanmar’s rooftop off-grid solar market across the commercial and industrial (C&I), off-grid retail, and community institution segments, examining demand and supply dynamics, financing constraints, delivery models, and market opportunities. It highlights solar energy’s growing economic viability amid rising electricity tariffs, unreliable grid supply, and increasing diesel costs. The report identifies limited access to financing, weak quality assurance systems, and operational challenges as key barriers to market growth. It recommends a results-based financing and Energy-as-a-Service approach, adapted from ESMAP’s 5P model, to expand sustainable solar electrification for community facilities, particularly rural health centers serving vulnerable populations.

Geothermal power can provide reliable, low-emission electricity for decades, but realizing its full value depends on effective operation and maintenance (O&M). This ESMAP handbook provides practical guidance for designing and implementing site-specific O&M strategies that sustain plant performance, extend asset life, reduce unplanned outages, and protect long-term revenues. Drawing on industry research, practitioner interviews, and survey findings, it identifies key O&M challenges and presents an eight-step framework covering resource and plant assessment, performance monitoring, staffing, costs, financing, asset management, and continuous improvement.Key PointsIntegrate O&M from the start. Involve future O&M teams in plant design, equipment testing, and commissioning to build operational capacity and prevent costly problems.Manage the resource and plant together. Proactive reservoir monitoring and plant performance management are essential to sustaining generation over the project life cycle.Address site-specific risks. Scaling, corrosion, well decline, equipment degradation, gas emissions, and remote-site logistics require tailored maintenance and monitoring strategies.Build skills and local capacity. Continuous training, knowledge transfer, and local or regional maintenance capabilities can reduce operational and supply-chain risks.Plan and finance for the long term. Dedicated maintenance reserves and life-cycle cost planning help prevent deferred maintenance and protect asset value.Use data and digital tools strategically. KPIs, SCADA, asset-management systems, and AI-enabled monitoring can improve maintenance decisions and identify problems earlier.Apply structured asset management. ISO 55001 provides a risk-based framework for managing geothermal assets, costs, and performance throughout their life cycle.Follow an eight-step O&M framework. The handbook guides stakeholders from assessing plant and resource conditions through implementation, monitoring, financing, and continuous improvement. 

How Effective Risk Mitigation contributes to energy access and transition to cleaner energyScaling energy in emerging markets is constrained by a lack of bankable projects that can attract private capital. Investors face elevated risks—from political instability and foreign exchange volatility to weak off‑taker creditworthiness—driving up the cost of capital and creating financing gaps that public resources alone cannot fill. Effective risk‑mitigation , including the use of financial instruments such as guarantees, credit enhancements, blended finance, and foreign exchange solutions, are therefore critical enablers of the energy transition.  How Effective Risk Mitigation contributes to developmentIn the energy sector, access to affordable and reliable power underpins income generation, job creation, and economic inclusion. By rebalancing the risk‑return profile of clean energy projects, effective risk‑mitigation tools enable investments that would otherwise deter private capital. ESMAP has developed a targeted suite of initiatives and instruments to help unlock private investment in renewable energy across the world’s most underserved markets. Effective Risk Mitigation’s main challenges and solutionsEffective risk mitigation instruments can catalyze entire energy markets, build investor confidence, lower tariffs for consumers, and create conditions for sustained private sector engagement.  ESMAP’s Sustainable Renewables Risk Mitigation Initiative partnership supports countries in building pipelines of bankable renewable energy projects by addressing critical risks, unlocking private investment, and maximizing socioeconomic benefits.

How the energy sector contributes to job creationThe energy sector creates jobs directly through infrastructure construction and operations, indirectly through supply chains, and—most powerfully—by enabling productivity, value addition, and employment across the entire economy wherever affordable and reliable energy is available. In Africa in particular, energy enables jobs with the biggest gains where modern energy unlocks productivity in urban and rural areas in agriculture, medium and small-scale enterprises, industrial growth and value chains.   How energy-related jobs contribute to developmentReliable, affordable energy raises productivity across agriculture, manufacturing, and services. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where over 40 percent of the population depends on agriculture, modern energy reduces production costs and unlocks new economic activity. Expanding energy access for agribusiness in developing countries not only increases productivity and reduces waste but also creates new employment opportunities in installation, operation, and maintenance of energy systems, as well as in the expanded agricultural value chain.  Main challenges and solutions in creating jobs through energy access and energy transitionThe agribusiness sector faces barriers such as poor infrastructure, limited market access, and few modern storage and processing facilities, which constrain job creation. In rural settings, where grid electricity is often unavailable or unreliable, renewable energy—particularly solar power—offers new opportunities to power irrigation systems, cold storage, and processing units. Solar-powered irrigation systems, such as solar water pumps, offer a sustainable solution by providing reliable water supply without fossil fuels.

The 9th Global Off-Grid Solar Forum & Expo brings together more than 1,000 business leaders, investors, policymakers, and development partners to advance electricity access through distributed renewable energy. The Forum is convened by GOGLA, the global association for the off-grid solar industry, together with the World Bank Group's Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) and the Government of Rwanda. Held every two years, the Forum is the sector's principal global gathering. Across three days, the program combines plenary sessions, thematic tracks, an exhibition of technologies and services, and structured opportunities for business and investment meetings. Sessions examine how distributed renewable energy can be delivered at scale as essential infrastructure, covering household electrification, productive use and agriculture, mini-grids, energy for health and education facilities, results-based financing, and the policy and regulatory conditions that sustain market growth. Mission 300, the World Bank Group and African Development Bank initiative to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030, has brought new attention to the mix of technologies universal access requires. Around half of those connections are expected to come from solar home systems and mini-grids. The Forum is where the industry, its investors, and its government and development partners meet to address what that will take. Registration and the full program are available at offgridsolarforum.org.

How floating solar contributes to energy access and the transition to cleaner energyFloating solar generates clean electricity using solar panels that are installed on the water surface of reservoirs, lakes, or ponds. This offers a practical solution to expand renewable electricity generation in countries where demand is growing quickly, and land is limited or costly. Floating solar can also leverage existing water infrastructure, often alongside hydropower, sharing grid connections, improving energy security, and adding new generation capacity.How floating solar contributes to developmentFloating solar supports sustainable development by enabling clean power generation while reducing pressure on land resources. It can strengthen energy security, support decarbonization, optimize the use of existing infrastructure, create local jobs, attract investment, and contribute to long-term economic growth.Floating solar’s main challenge and solutionFloating solar projects face relatively high upfront costs coupled with countries’ and operators’ limited experience coupled with uncertainty around technical standards, environmental impacts, and regulations. ESMAP helps address these barriers by generating evidence, developing practical guidance, and supporting client countries through technical assistance and knowledge sharing. Through clearer policies, better planning, and risk-reduction tools, ESMAP supports countries in scaling floating solar safely and sustainably. 

This report presents strategic roadmaps for accelerating the energy transition in five Pacific Island Countries (PICs): Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Solomon Islands, and Tonga. Despite ambitious renewable energy and electrification targets, PICs continue to face high electricity costs, limited access, heavy dependence on imported fossil fuels, climate vulnerability, and institutional and financing constraints. The analysis identifies country-specific and cross-cutting barriers across six key pillars: renewable energy development, grid resilience, electricity access, policy and regulation, utility sustainability, and private capital mobilization.Based on government consultations and World Bank analyses, the report outlines sequenced policy, regulatory, and investment actions to strengthen enabling conditions for the clean energy transition. It estimates financing needs of approximately US$2 billion through 2030 for renewable generation, network expansion, and electrification. The report also highlights the catalytic role of concessional finance, blended finance mechanisms, and the proposed Pacific Risk Sharing Facility in mobilizing private investment. By combining policy reforms with targeted financing, the roadmaps aim to support secure, affordable, resilient, and sustainable energy systems across the Pacific region.

How Energy Subsidy Reforms Contribute to the Transition to Cleaner EnergyReforming energy subsidies refers to changing government policies that artificially lower the cost of electricity, fuels, and district heating. The distortions caused by energy subsidies, particularly for fossil fuels, make the financing of clean energy and energy efficiency more difficult. Reforming energy subsidies can help ensure energy prices reflect true market costs of different energy forms, leveling the playing field for clean energy and energy efficiency.How Energy Subsidy Reforms Contribute to DevelopmentWhile typically intended to make fuel more affordable for the poor, energy subsidies are often counterproductive, disproportionately benefiting richer households who use more energy. Removing or reducing subsidies frees up billions of public funds that governments can redirect to healthcare, education, and infrastructure—areas with higher social returns. Instead of subsidizing energy consumption, governments may invest in grid expansion, renewable energy, and clean cooking solutions, supporting inclusive growth by improving energy reliability and affordability for underserved communities.Energy Subsidy Reforms’ Main Challenges and SolutionsEnergy subsidy reforms are technically complex and politically sensitive. ESMAP has distilled international good practices that highlight the importance of designing reforms carefully, implementing gradual price adjustments using transparent formulas, and putting mitigation measures in place to help manage the impact of reforms. Other aspects include clear public communication about reforms’ benefits and engagement with stakeholders throughout the process. Also, energy subsidy reforms need to be aligned with broader fiscal, climate, and social policies to maximize their impact. 

How clean hydrogen contributes to the transition to cleaner energyHydrogen is typically a flammable gas and can act as an energy carrier by storing and transporting energy. Clean hydrogen includes both green hydrogen produced using renewable power and low-carbon hydrogen produced using fossil fuels combined with carbon capture, utilization, and storage. Clean hydrogen can replace conventional hydrogen in fertilizer production and refining. It can also replace fossil fuels in hard-to-abate sectors such as steel production, chemicals, shipping, and aviation.   How clean hydrogen contributes to developmentEmerging markets and developing countries often offer ideal conditions for clean hydrogen production due to the availability of renewable energy (e.g., sun and wind). Therefore, clean hydrogen production is an opportunity to attract a new industry that creates jobs, fosters business opportunities around hydrogen plants, generates government income, and contributes to socioeconomic growth. Clean hydrogen can reduce fertilizer and natural gas import dependency and thus enhance energy and food security.  Clean hydrogen’s main challenges and solutionsClean hydrogen is still more expensive than conventional hydrogen production. These costs can be reduced through cheaper financing if investment risks are mitigated appropriately. The World Bank and ESMAP are helping to reduce costs by designing financing instruments that de-risk projects with optimal efficiency and effectiveness.