Rising carbon emissions and energy insecurity have become part of the major issues affecting the development of African economies. Renewable capacity additions, that is, renewable energy generation, through renewable energy sources, such as hydropower, solar power, wind power, and geothermal power, play a vital role in ensuring energy efficiency and are clean and environmentally friendly. The increasing deployment of renewable energy in African countries raises some serious questions about its role in strengthening energy security and reducing carbon emissions, even though they are widely recognised as pathways to resilience. However, there is a paucity of empirical evidence with robust causal implications to ascertain this claim in the case of Africa. This study is therefore aimed at investigating the impacts of renewable capacity additions—solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal—on improving energy security and reducing emissions in Africa. The study will make use of the panel ARDL estimation technique to analyse data across 12 African countries from 2000 to 2024. In order to ascertain the validity of the results obtained, the study will also employ the use of the fixed-effects estimation technique to serve as a robustness check. Energy security will be proxied by indicators like fossil fuel import dependence, electricity access rates, and frequency of supply disruptions. Carbon intensity and emissions will be used to capture environmental outcomes. The expected outcome of this study is such that renewable capacity additions will propel energy security in Africa both in the short and long run. Policy-wise, the findings from this study are expected to strengthen the argument that renewable energy is also a resilience-enhancing tool for African economies. By investigating the direct impacts of renewable capacity additions in improving energy security and reducing emissions in Africa, this study is crucial and holds potential for high-impact policy recommendations, actionable insights, and scholarly contributions that are crucial for the region’s renewable energy generation trajectory.