NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Africa’s biggest clean energy challenge is shifting from building projects to building the institutions, markets and regulatory systems needed to deliver them at scale, experts say.
That challenge is emerging even as clean energy reaches a historic milestone globally. Renewables generated 34% of the world’s electricity in 2025, overtaking coal’s 33% share. Together with nuclear power, renewables are expected to provide half of global electricity by 2030.
As industrialization, artificial intelligence and electrification push demand higher, experts say the bottleneck in transitioning to cleaner energy has shifted from technology to the systems supporting it, including funding. Overcoming such obstacles is vital for securing access to power for the 600 million people in Africa who are yet to be connected.
“Clean energy is now cheaper than fossil fuels in virtually every part of the world,” former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions, said in late June while announcing a new $285 million Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative to strengthen clean energy industries in emerging and developing economies.
“But fixable obstacles are still slowing down deployment, and with energy demand rising at an unprecedented speed, we can’t allow those obstacles to continue standing in the way,” he said.
Rather than financing solar farms or wind projects directly, the initiative will invest in strengthening market design, regulatory capacity, technical expertise and industry institutions, areas increasingly viewed as essential for attracting private investment and accelerating use of renewable energy.
It reflects a growing consensus that Africa’s energy transition is constrained less by a lack of renewable resources or viable technologies than by the institutional capacity needed to turn those advantages into financially viable projects and electricity on the grid.
Many projects remain delayed by weak market design, limited grid planning, slow permitting processes and fragmented regulatory systems.
“What has been missing is not the potential, but the institutional infrastructure and capabilities to unlock it,” said Saliem Fakir, executive director of the African Climate Foundation. “Philanthropy that targets those gaps directly is the kind of intervention that can shift the trajectory of a continent’s energy system.”
Across Africa, renewable energy costs have fallen sharply while investment appetite continues to grow. However, investors say policy uncertainty, slow permitting processes and limited regulatory capacity are hindering projects.
Wangari Muchiri, founder and chief executive of RE.Think Energy, said the commitment signals that “the next phase of the energy transition is not about proving clean energy works, it’s about removing the barriers preventing it from scaling fast enough.”
The Bloomberg initiative is looking beyond ambitious renewable energy targets to focus on helping projects attract long-term investments and connect to national grids.
“The next chapter of Africa's renewable energy story will not be only by the projects it builds, but the institutions that make these projects possible,” Muchiri said.
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
FILE - A shepherd watches livestock near Khi Solar One, a solar thermal plant that converts the sun's light energy into electricity, outside Upington, South Africa, in the Northern Cape province, Aug. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United staged a stunning comeback to recover from its worst start to a European home game by beating Roma 3-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Paris Saint-Germain set a new record as the quickest team to score four goals in European soccer’s top competition by powering into a 4-0 lead after 17 minutes against Villarreal on its way to a 6-0 win.
Elsewhere, Barcelona beat Aston Villa 3-0 and Bayern Munich won 2-0 at Atletico Madrid.
But the biggest drama of the night came at Old Trafford, where United's troubled season looked set to plunge deeper into crisis after going 2-0 down after 17 minutes against Roma.
It was the quickest United had conceded twice in any European game at its iconic stadium. But a rousing second-half performance saw Bruno Fernandes convert a retaken penalty and Matheus Cunha score twice before being sent off to seal a much-needed win for under fire coach Michael Carrick.
The joyous scenes at the end were in stark contrast to earlier, when furious United fans attempted to disrupt the match by throwing tennis balls on the field.
The pre-planned protest was the latest show of dissent from supporters who have long-called for the club’s American owners, the Glazer family, to sell their controlling stake.
A small number of balls were thrown in the 21st minute to mark 21 years since the Glazers’ staged a leveraged buyout of the storied club.
By then Roma had already raced to a 2-0 lead through Matias Soule’s 11th-minute strike and Donyell Malen’s penalty.
It could have been worse by the break, with Roma having more chances to extend the lead. But the game was turned on its head after halftime, with Fernandes’ twice-taken penalty giving the home fans hope and then Cunha sealing the comeback with goals in the 83rd and 86th.
PSG looks like the team to beat again as it chases down a hat trick of Champions League titles, which would see Luis Enrique’s team match the feat of Real Madrid from 2016-18.
Even without the injured Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the French giant had too much firepower for Villarreal, with an early goal blitz effectively putting the game to bed long before halftime at El Madrigal.
Joao Neves, Desire Doue, Senny Mayulu and Fabian Ruiz all scored inside the first 17 minutes. UEFA said it was the fastest any team had reached four goals in a Champions League game.
Ruiz and 17-year-old David Boly, four minutes after coming on as a substitute for his competition debut, added goals in the second half for PSG, which is the only team on 12 points.
There was no goal for newly-crowned Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane, but Bayern still prevailed at Atletico.
Lennart Karl and Konrad Laimer scored second-half goals for Bayern, which has eight points from four games in the league phase.
Karl capitalized on a defensive blunder to break the deadlock in the 54th and Laimer collected a precise cross from Kane to fire into the roof of the net 20 minutes later.
Raphinha scored twice for Barcelona to end Villa's perfect start to the Champions League.
Lamine Yamal fired the opening goal at Camp Nou in the seventh and Raphinha put the game beyond doubt with a double after the break.
Barcelona moved up to second in the standings, ahead of third-placed Villa on goal difference. The Spanish giant's only loss in the competition came against PSG.
Sporting Lisbon beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0, a day after announcing it was parting ways with coach Rui Borges.
Under reserve coach Tiago Fernandes, the Portuguese giant picked up its third win in the Champions League this season, with Issa Doumbia scoring the decisive goal in the game at Stamford Bridge.
Aleksey Batrakov scored two goals in quick succession to seal a 2-0 win for Galatasaray against Stuttgart.
Batrakov opened the scoring in the 12th minute at RAMS Park and struck again three minutes later.
Inter Milan beat Feyenoord 3-0, LASK won 4-0 against Slovan Bratislava and Bodø/Glimt drew 0-0 with Lille.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
Bayern's Konrad Laimer, centre, celebrates with Harry Kane, right, and Nathaniel Brown after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Barcelona's Raphinha, center, celebrates with Fermin Lopez, left, and Anthony Gordon after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Barcelona and Aston Villa in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
PSG's Fabian Ruiz celebrates after scoring his side's fifth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Villarreal and Paris Saint-Germain in Villarreal, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Manchester United's Matheus Cunha scores his side's third goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Manchester United and AS Roma in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Manchester United's Matheus Cunha celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Manchester United and AS Roma in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Bayern Munich's Harry Kane holds the Ballon d'Or trophy ahead of the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)
FILE - Aston Villa's head coach Unai Emery celebrates with the trophy after the Europa League final soccer match between Freiburg and Aston Villa in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring his side's fifth goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Alaves in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick attends a training session in Manchester, England, Monday Nov. 2, 2026. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
Manchester United's head coach Michael Carrick, center, reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Manchester United in London, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)
