Alternative energy has been hailed as a feasible resolution to the environmental degradation and energy problems that have plagued Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) recently. The expansion of the clean energy sector, on the other hand, relies on economic growth, effective governance, and financial considerations. As a result, it is important to investigate the links between these variables in SSA. This study investigated the influence of economic growth, institutional quality, foreign direct investment (FDI), and financial development on renewable energy at the national threshold in SSA using a two-step difference GMM model based on panel data collected from 2002 to 2019. The outcome shows that economic growth and all three financial development indicators (FD1, FD2 and FD3) have a positive significant relationship with renewable energy. Furthermore, for SSA countries, FDI, as well as all six proxy factors for institutional quality, had a negative significant influence on renewable energy. Our empirical findings propose a variety of policies that might help the renewable energy sector grow.