The implementation of the “Green Project in Africa: Cape Town – Athens, from the roads of water to the roads of energy” is part of the European Commission’s initiatives “The EU, Africa and China: Towards a trilateral dialogue and cooperation” and “The EU-Africa Energy Partnership”.

With the exception of South Africa, Libya and Egypt, most African countries can provide electricity for only 20% of the population, while in some, the figure drops as low as 5% (United Nations Data 2003). Many of the existing RES facilities were built in the 1950s and 1960s, so they face maintenance problems and operate in a patchy manner. Africa has significant renewable energy resources, which are largely untapped. Indicatively, only 7% of the huge water potential and only 60 MW of the 9000 MW of geothermal energy are used today. The possibility of RES for gradual development, as well as the low levels of costs of the related investments, make them ideal for countries with low capital, and limited technical training of the local population. In the majority of them, RES technologies utilize local resources and do not require high technical know-how, provide employment opportunities for local populations and enhance local development.