Geopolitics of renewables: comparing the engagement of China and the EU in African energy transition

Given the internationality nature of the climate crisis, Africa’s energy transition is far beyond a domestic issue merely requiring the decrease of greenhouse gases emissions at home, but often defined as a geopolitical and geoeconomic topic concerning international development cooperation, technology competition, energy security, and right to development. The distinctive engagement of China and the EU in Africa’s energy sector reflects their broader economic models—China’s policy is deeply embedded in a state-driven system while the EU embraces a neoliberal economic framework. This state-versus-market dichotomy still potentially exists in the renewable industry but with more nuances due to renewables’ flexible geographic distribution, decentralized technological production, and more dynamic consumer-provider relationship. For example, Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) actively participate in the renewable energy sector, whereas the EU is prioritizing energy security to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and accelerate the transition to domestic green energy. To untangle this new dynamic, this paper seeks to compare how China and the EU engage in Africa’s renewable industry by interrogating their strategic framework, institutional political structure, and the implementation of projects. By investigating two mega solar power plants - Garissa Solar Power Plant in Kenya and Benban Solar Park in Egypt, this paper unpacks how Chinese and European governmental and private actors engage in African renewable industry and how their activities align with and reflect the broader geopolitical policies of energy transition. The findings of this research include the following: 1) The government-firm partnership emerges as a shared institutional strategy, fostering collaboration between public and private sectors while allowing private actors to maintain a certain degree of autonomy. 2) Chinese turn-key project is more exclusive to Western involvement, with Chinese creditors, contractors, and suppliers, while European project has more diverse composition with participants from non-European countries. 3) In the “new” geopolitics of renewable energy, China targets Africa as potential market for the renewable industry while the EU aims to secure energy security through collaboration with African counties, but the interaction between China and Europe with Africa has become more symmetrical due to the decentralization of energy production and technology cooperation.