Amid a challenging energy landscape, diesel-based power generation remains one of the predominant standby energy sources across the African continent, despite diesel generator demand slowly plateauing, says global diesel and alternative fuel generators manufacturer Cummins power generation markets Europe, Middle East, India and Africa executive director Ignacio Gonzalez.

Although there is a need for a “sensible balance” between global decarbonisation efforts and Africa’s need for reliable power, in practice, energy security continues to “come first” across most African markets.

“Diesel generation remains widely critical today, especially for primary and standby applications,” he adds, noting that other energy sources are gaining traction, but uptake varies by region and is primarily determined by region-specific opportunities and constraints.

In South Africa, energy stability has improved following a protracted period of instability and constraints in the form of loadshedding, resulting in reduced urgency and demand for continuous diesel generation.

However, demand persists from energy-intensive sectors that prioritise security and cost control, particularly mining and the rapidly expanding data centre market.

This trend extends across the African continent, with the mining power generation market remaining robust, driven by expansion in key commodities such as copper, gold and critical minerals, particularly in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where largely offgrid operations make reliable power essential.

Similarly, in West Africa, steady activity in gold-producing markets, such as Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, continue to drive diesel power generation. Gonzalez adds that mining projects are also increasingly requiring hybrid solutions.

“While we have not seen strong volume growth across all markets, the mid-term expectation is looking at higher levels as and when infrastructure projects expand and more economies enter into positive cycles,” he says, noting that, currently, the focus is on optimisation rather than expansion.

“We should never forget that . . . in the majority of African applications, the generator remains the backbone of the system, with renewables and storage acting as possible optimising layers.”

Emerging Trends
Further illustrating the longevity of diesel, Gonzalez highlights its role in hybrid solutions, explaining that as solar and storage solutions become more viable, there is a growing shift away from purely diesel-based solutions towards multifaceted systems that ensure more efficiency.

Aligned to this, the growth of renewables “multiplies the opportunity” for diesel and gas generation because reliable backup power is required to manage the intermittency and grid-quality demand limitations associated with renewable power.

“Overall, the shift is not towards replacing diesel, but towards integrating it more efficiently,” he adds.

Across Africa, the primary energy challenge is ensuring stable, reliable supply to facilitate industrialisation and economic growth. While challenges vary by country, recent developments in terms of reforms and technology have created key opportunities to improve energy stability.

“Having visited multiple countries across Africa in the past couple of years, I . . . sense that things are already moving strongly in this direction in several markets,” Gonzalez elaborates.

He contends that the transition to lower carbon solutions will happen gradually, starting with optimisation and moving into hybridisation as the economics become viable. While the transition to hybrid solutions remains in its early stages, it is gaining traction, offering businesses an avenue to diversify their energy mix and maintain reliability while reducing operating costs.

He adds that well-designed hybrid microgrids combine solar-generated power for baseload capacity, battery energy storage systems (BESS) for short-term balancing and generators for backup and peak demand. This is enabled by intelligent control systems to ensure efficiency and optimisation.

Hybrid momentum is most evident in mining-driven markets – such as Zambia, the DRC and parts of West Africa – and is primarily driven by fuel cost, reliability and operational efficiencies.  BESS is also becoming increasingly attractive as end-users aim to reduce diesel consumption while maintaining stable power.

“Our priority today is to ensure reliable power while gradually positioning ourselves to support the transition as the market evolves.”

One such example is West Africa, where improving gas availability is making gas-based solutions a viable complement to diesel in selected applications. However, this remains market specific as infrastructure and supply are uneven across the region, Gonzalez says.

Meanwhile, pioneering the adoption of low-carbon technologies, such as hydrogen and fuel cells, is also emerging, particularly among mining and data centre operators driven by sustainability commitments. Adoption, however, remains nascent across Africa, owing to infrastructure limitations and cost constraints.

Acknowledging that recent challenges in the Middle East will have wide-ranging implications, Gonzalez concludes that being ready to mitigate the worst of the impacts and preparing for an eventual upturn is a “strategic priority”.