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1 September 2022: Creeds Energy has energized 50 households in Bassa, Nasarawa State, with 24-hour solar energy access using mesh-grids from Okra Solar.

The 50 household project with Creeds Energy marks Okra’s third successful deployment of mesh-grids in Nigeria. Creeds has a track record of deploying successful projects and is  aiming to rapidly expand their mesh-grid portfolio to 910 households with the financial support of the Rural Electrification Agency’s Solar Power Naija program.

The  project was installed in five days, with households generating clean power instantly. The total project has 10kW of solar PV generation, 51.2kWh of battery storage capacity (LFP), and supplies an average daily load of 460Wh/day, sized for 99% network uptime.

Okra’s innovative “plug-and-play” mesh-grid technology is installed at each household, just like typical rooftop solar home systems, and allows neighbouring households to interconnect and share excess energy. This increases the overall energy availability and reliability of the service, similar to mini-grids. Households energized by the mesh-grid in Bassa will be able to use electric cooking, refrigeration and water pumping amongst other productive use appliances.

The cost per connection for this 50 household pilot was less than USD $1,000/household, which represents an estimated 30% cost saving compared to delivering the same amount of power (460Wh/day) using a traditional centralised mini-grid.

The scale-up phase of the project will see Creeds electrifying an additional 910 households and businesses spread across the Bassa community and the nearby market area. These areas currently lack access to electricity altogether or are predominantly using diesel generators as a primary source of electricity.

The scale-up project will also energise a mosque and a health care centre, creating a green hub in the centre of Nasarawa State.  In 2015, the United Nations set out to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, including SDG7: clean and affordable energy access for all. Nigeria still has about 90 million people without basic energy access, but projects like this one in Bassa are an example of how local companies are using innovative approaches to make an impact.

Hannah Kabir,  CEO of Creeds Energy, commented:

“Our partnership with Okra has ushered in endless possibilities for delivering energy access to the multitude of households and businesses in need. The first of many, this project showcases the potential of Creeds Litedey model with emerging technologies and solutions aimed at powering prosperity.”

Afnan Hannan, Co-Founder and CEO of Okra Solar, commented:

“Creeds Energy is doing some amazing work in Nigeria. We are proud to be working with a local team with a woman founder, Hannah who is an amazing entrepreneur with an amazing team. They have a great grasp of community and social development needs, and the fact that they’re energising households using Okra mesh-grid technology is really heartwarming and we’re fully backing them as they scale out to energise more households.”

 

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About Okra Solar: Okra Solar’s mission is to facilitate sustainable energy access for last-mile communities around the globe. Developers have used okra Solar’s Mesh-Grid technology in Cambodia, the Philippines, Haiti and Nigeria to deploy clean and reliable power in remote communities using off-the-shelf solar panels and batteries that can be interconnected into scalable networks. Okra Solar’s SaaS platform also equips energy companies with remote monitoring, maintenance insights and mobile payments, so that operators can stay informed to prevent blackouts. Okra Solar’s work has been recognised by Forbes, TechCrunch and the Cleantech Forum for its potential to create lasting impact, and it’s investors include Schneider Electric and TepCo Power.

About Creeds Energy: Creeds Renewable Energy Ltd is a professional renewable energy services and solution provider, sustainably addressing energy and electricity challenges by improving energy access for the underserved and unserved, through the promotion of clean and energy efficient solar technologies.

26 September 2022: Kowry Energy, a sustainability-driven energy service provider focused on power provision across Sub-Saharan Africa, is proud to announce the successful commissioning of four decentralised solar energy systems in Senegal, Nigeria and Mali within 16months of the company’s incorporation.

Kowry Energy provides efficient and affordable hybrid energy systems that strengthen and empower communities and businesses. The analysis of the data provided by these digitised systems can provide solutions to drive demand management while accelerating the growth of local economies.

The successfully commissioned projects are the first of several forming portfolios in each country that will be realised within three years.

Senegal:

Kowry Energy designed a 10 kWp PV decentralised solar energy system with battery storage for Sud Solar Systems to provide access to green and affordable electricity to two public buildings and seven micro-enterprises within the community of Bani in Southern Senegal. The system was designed to support income-generating activities to unlock the community’s economic potential.

Nigeria:

On behalf of Proserve Energy Services, Kowry Energy designed two 286 kWp PV solar energy systems for a plastic recycling plant and a food processing plant in Abuja, replacing 50% and almost 100%, respectively, of demand mainly from diesel generators. The rooftop-mounted solar systems collectively reduce CO2 emissions by 208,521kg per annum.

Mali:

In Djine, an agriculture hub in the cotton belt of Mali, Kowry Energy designed a 69 kWp PV hybrid energy system with battery storage and a backup generator for Access Energie. The project will provide reliable electricity to 3,000 residents, 40 businesses and ten public buildings.

Ndiarka Mbodji, CEO & Founder of Kowry Energy, said, “Countries across Africa have resiliently emerged from the pandemic and now face the uncertainty and challenges brought about by climate change, food and water insecurity. We have worked closely with our customers to remove unnecessary barriers to business growth in the local communities they serve; reliable and affordable clean electricity is the backbone of any economy, from which ever-lasting societal foundations can be built, and development can be sustainable. These inaugural projects prove our concept and demonstrate the demand for our unique offering. We look forward to deepening our relationship with our customers and partners in West Africa and to expanding our reach across Africa”.

 

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About Kowry Energy: Kowry Energy is a sustainability-driven energy service provider focused on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The company designs and delivers decentralised hybrid energy solutions with appropriate financing to local energy companies to power businesses and communities. Kowry Energy’s core value proposition is to scale energy access at pace with flexible and modular hybrid systems and to provide data-driven solutions for further growth. Kowry Energy is based in Berlin, Germany.

27 September 2022: Solar mini grids can provide high-quality uninterrupted electricity to nearly half a billion people in unpowered or underserved communities and be a least-cost solution to close the energy access gap by 2030. But to realize the full potential of solar mini grids, governments and industry must work together to systemically identify mini grid opportunities, continue to drive costs down, and overcome barriers to financing, says a new World Bank report.

Around 733 million people – mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa – still lack access to electricity. The pace of electrification has slowed down in recent years, due to the difficulties in reaching the remotest and most vulnerable populations, as well as the devastating effects of the COVID 19 pandemic. At the current rate of progress, 670 million people will remain without electricity by 2030.

“Now more than ever, solar mini grids are a core solution for closing the energy access gap,” said Riccardo Puliti, Infrastructure Vice President at the World Bank. “The World Bank has been scaling up its support to mini grids as part of helping countries develop comprehensive electrification programs. With $1.4 billion across 30 countries, our commitments to mini grids represent about one-quarter of total investment in mini grids by the public and private sector in our client countries. To realize mini grids’ full potential to connect half a billion people by 2030, several actions are needed, such as incorporating mini grids into national electrification plans and devising financing solutions adapted to mini grid projects’ risk profiles.”

The deployment of solar mini grids has seen an important acceleration, from around 50 per country per year in 2018 to more than 150 per country per year today, particularly in countries with the lowest rates of access to electricity. This is the result of falling costs of key components, the introduction of new digital solutions, a large and expanding cohort of highly capable mini grid developers, and growing economies of scale.

Solar mini grids have become the least-cost way to bring high-quality 24/7 electricity to towns and cities off the grid or experiencing regular power cuts. The cost of electricity generated by solar mini grids has gone down from $0.55/kWh in 2018 to $0.38/kWh today. Modern solar mini grids now provide enough electricity for life-changing electric appliances, such as refrigerators, welders, milling machines or e-vehicles. Mini grid operators can manage their systems remotely, and paidsmart meters enable customers to pay as they use the electricity.  Connecting 490 million people to solar mini grids would avoid 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Further acceleration is needed, however, to meet Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). Powering 490 million people by 2030 will require the construction of more than 217,000 mini grids at a cumulative cost of $127 billion. At current pace, only 44,800 new mini grids serving 80 million people will be built by 2030 at a total investment cost of $37 billion.

Produced by the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), the new book, Mini Grids for Half a Billion people: Market Outlook and Handbook for Decision Makers, identifies five market drivers to set the mini grid sector on a trajectory to achieve full market potential and universal electrification:

  1. Reducing the cost of electricity from solar hybrid mini grids to $0.20/kWh by 2030, which would put life-changing power in the hands of half a billion people for just $10 per month
  2. Increasing the pace of deployment to 2,000 mini grids per country per year, by building portfolios of modern mini grids instead of one-off projects
  3. Providing superior-quality service to customers and communities by providing reliable electricity for 3 million income-generating appliances and machines and 200,000 schools and clinics
  4. Leveraging development partner funding and government investment to “crowd in” private-sector finance, raising $127 billion in cumulative investment from all sources for mini grids by 2030.
  5. Establishing enabling mini grid business environments in key access-deficit countries through light-handed and adaptive regulations, supportive policies, and reductions in bureaucratic red tape.

The handbook is the World Bank’s most comprehensive and authoritative publication on mini grids to date.

  • CBEA, a leading project financier of mini-grids in Africa, committed to invest in $60M of mini-grid projects developed by ENGIE Energy Access, a leading provider of energy access solutions in Africa | Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy but more than 80 million people lack access to electricity | This transaction will finance construction of a portfolio of mini-grids, connecting over 150,000 people to power for the first time.

28 September 2022: CrossBoundary Energy Access Nigeria (CBEA) and ENGIE Energy Access Nigeria (ENGIE) are announcing a project finance agreement to build a $60 million portfolio of mini-grids that will connect over 150,000 people to electricity in Nigeria.

ENGIE has developed a pipeline of mini-grids to build over the next four years. CBEA will finance all of the development and construction activities and will own the projects. ENGIE will provide long-term operations and maintain services for the mini-grids and ensure that the residential, commercial, and productive use customers receive clean, reliable electricity while delivering high-quality and customer centric services.

CBEA will provide the private capital for the transaction. CBEA will invest this private capital alongside the Performance Based Grant (PBG) funded by the World Bank and administered by Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP).

ENGIE, expanding on its energy access track record across Africa, sees huge value in the development of the mini-grid business in Nigeria. The agreement represents further progress in the African mini-grid space as it will expand access to energy to grid-unserved communities, creating economic growth and increasing socio-economic welfare in the community.

CBEA and ENGIE are excited that this innovative financing approach will provide electricity to more than 150,000 people in Nigeria and can be replicated across Africa.

Annette Mumbi, Associate Director at CrossBoundary Energy Access, says, “CBEA has improved our project financing approach for mini-grids to deploy capital faster and more efficiently by investing from procurement. These improvements enable developers to build mini-grids and deliver electricity to more people at a faster pace. Our agreement with ENGIE is one more milestone towards closing the gap on more than 600 million people in Africa who lack access to electricity.”

Gillian-Alexandre Huart, CEO, ENGIE Energy Access, says, “We’re excited to work in partnership with CrossBoundary Energy Access to finance this portfolio of mini-grids in Nigeria. This deal reflects our long-term commitment as a leading provider of energy access solutions in Africa. Most importantly, this agreement will connect marginalized rural populations in Nigeria with clean and affordable technologies and facilitate more economic opportunities in these hard-to-serve areas. Promoting productive usages is key to growing resilient economic networks in these areas.”

Tessa Dignam, Senior Legal Counsel at CrossBoundary, says, “CrossBoundary Energy Access is excited to collaborate with an experienced developer like ENGIE. This partnership demonstrates an innovative and flexible approach taken to advance renewable energy solutions in Africa. Financing structures like the one between CBEA and ENGIE in Nigeria provide a framework for bringing even more private capital into the sector.”

Bankole Cardoso, Country Director ENGIE Energy Access Nigeria, says, “This partnership is a huge step forward for us in our mission to not only impact lives through affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy solutions but to also improve economic productivity in communities across Nigeria. With this partnership we will connect thousands of households in four years and have a direct impact on the agricultural productivity, light scale construction and industrial activity in the communities thereby increasing the earning potential of over 150,000 individuals across Nigeria.”

Humphrey Wireko, Managing Director at CrossBoundary Energy Access, says, “This investment would not be possible without the enabling environment created by Nigeria’s mini-grid regulations, the World Bank, REA, and the NEP program. We look forward to building a foundation in Nigeria and will look to expand our project financing approach to other markets with similar enabling environments.”

Onyinye Anene-Nzelu, Head, Mini-Grids, ENGIE Energy Access Nigeria, says, “This partnership shows what is possible within the off-grid decentralized renewable energy industry, in Nigeria and across Africa. It is a signal as well to other investors to come to Africa and become partners in progress to bridge its huge energy gap.”

29 September 2022: Husk Power Systems, the leading net-zero energy company serving rural Africa and Asia, today announced it has doubled its fleet of solar hybrid microgrids in Nigeria, and is now present in 12 communities. The company has also developed a pipeline of nearly 100 additional microgrids for future development.

Since entering Nigeria in 2020, Husk now accounts for about 15% of the microgrids commissioned under the World Bank-funded Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), a unit under the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) that is working to scale private sector solar microgrids. Husk is on track to complete about 20 sites in Nigeria by the start of 2023.

At full capacity the 12 microgrids owned and operated by Husk, all located in Nasarawa state, are expected to benefit more than 50,000 people. Husk is seeing 50% of diesel generators in its communities taken offline within the first year of a microgrid’s operations, amounting to hundreds of displaced generators. Customers are registering at least 30% reduction in monthly energy costs by switching from diesel to solar.

Husk’s first batch of six microgrids were launched in November 2021,. Those sites are experiencing high demand from both businesses and households. For example, average capacity utilization for Husk’s microgrids – a key measure of commercial viability – is already more than 50%, well above the industry average. Husk’s average monthly revenue per customer is also 2-3 times higher than the industry benchmark, based on data from the Africa Minigrid Developers Association (AMDA) published in 2022.

In addition to providing electricity, Husk has introduced appliance sales to the communities served by its microgrids, for both household and productive uses (such as health centers, water purification and agro-processing).

“Doubling our net-zero microgrid portfolio in less than a year is testament to Husk’s ability to play an important role in Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and its goal of providing energy for all within this decade,” said Olu Aruike, Country Director of Husk Nigeria. “With continued support from our host communities, governments at all levels and other partners, we will create a rural energy platform to help off grid and weak grid communities achieve their full economic potential.”

Earlier this year, Husk launched its Nigeria Sunshot initiative, with a target of building at least 500 sites by 2026 benefiting more than 2 million people and displacing 25,000 diesel generators.

According to recent Nigerian government data, solar microgrids represent the least-cost technology for 8.9 million of the 19.8 million additional connections needed in the country to achieve universal electrification by 2030. Under its Nigeria Sunshot Initiative, by 2026 Husk will be able to provide about 5% of those microgrid connections, and impact 2 million people, with the potential for much greater impact by the end of the decade.

 

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About Husk Power Systems: Founded in 2008, Husk Power Systems is the leading net-zero energy services company operating across Asia and Africa. Its smart and sustainable solutions, centered around community solar microgrids, accelerate access to clean, modern and affordable electricity and catalyze socio-economic development. Husk’s focus on the customer meets the growing aspirations of businesses and households, while its grid-integratable solution supports national electrification plans. For more information, visit: huskpowersystems.com.

11 October 2022: The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) today launched a partnership to promote financial innovation and investment to deliver greater levels of finance to clean cooking solutions. Both organizations will focus in particular on markets in Africa and Asia, where the need for clean cooking is particularly acute.

The partnership was formalized between representatives of CCA, which is hosted by the UN Foundation, and UNCDF during the Clean Cooking Forum in Accra, Ghana.

Some 2.4 billion people live without access to clean cooking, which costs the world more than $2.4 trillion in damage to the climate and local economies and contributes to 3.2 million premature deaths each year. Current funding levels for clean cooking solutions has hovered around US$130 million, a fraction of the US$10 billion required annually to ensure access to clean cooking.

By working to increase finance flows into companies operating in clean cooking markets, CCA and UNCDF will look to close the clean cooking gap that is undermining local economies, producing negative health outcomes in communities and damaging the climate on a global scale. Both organizations will focus in particular on African and Asian markets where much of the global clean cooking needs are concentrated.

“Access to finance is one of the biggest challenges faced by entrepreneurs and businesses working on clean cooking solutions,” said Dymphna van der Lans, CEO of the Clean Cooking Alliance. “Through this partnership with UNCDF, we will drive financial innovation to unlock smart public finance and new forms of climate and social impact finance to expand the frontiers of clean fuel and application”

“Between CCA’s leadership role and unsurpassed network in the sector, and UNCDF’s history of catalyzing investment to finance the decentralized energy value chain in frontier markets and LDCs, our partnership will truly optimize our unique capabilities towards this critical effort,” said Xavier Michon, Deputy Executive Secretary of UNCDF. “Perhaps most importantly, my hope is that both UNCDF and CCA can spark a demonstration effect that will see clean cooking finance go from the millions to the billions needed to arrive at the success that we seek.”

CCA and UNCDF will aim to increase the flow of public finance and newer forms of climate and social impact finance into companies operating in clean cooking markets. The two organizations will collaborate through three prongs of activities to carry out this effort:

  • Joint Programming– Partnering on innovative finance initiatives for clean cooking as well as digital innovations in Asia and Africa, notably the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania;
  • Research and Thought Leadership—In such areas as unit economics, identifying and understanding buyers and responsible carbon finance;
  • Partnerships and Advocacy—Including the global promotion of clean cooking as nature based solutions within the climate finance space.

19 October 2022: The Access to Energy Institute (A2EI) and the European programme GET.invest officially launched the data platform Prospect at the Global Off-Grid Solar Forum and Expo 2022 in Kigali today. Prospect radically optimizes real-time data collection, analysis, and visualisation to support sustainable energy stakeholders in providing affordable and clean energy access for all. Prospect is supported by the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Austria.

Prospect is the first global open-source, product-agnostic, real-time and free-of-charge data and transaction platform that automatically collects, aggregates, analyses and displays data from all modern sustainable energy solutions. The platform facilitates big data analysis on any product segment, region, and country in near real-time. It tracks energy services ranging from small solar home systems to large mini-grids and grid-connected distribution networks – while also covering productive use appliances, modern clean cooking solutions, and systems installed in public institutions.

The platform employs a unique “energy fingerprint + heartbeat” methodology that combines customer, technical, usage, maintenance, and payment data streams to authenticate performance and impact, while adhering to strict data privacy policies. It transparently makes multi-layered data available both at the individual system and at project or aggregate level.

Prospect allows for instantaneous secure data sharing, empowering users to leverage their data to gain insights, raise finance, prove results, and contribute to broader research within the energy sector. It facilitates extensive automatic reporting, monitoring and evaluation and features a built-in transaction functionality to support financing and subsidy disbursements. Providing distributors, investors, funders and governments alike with a broad range of analytical and practical opportunities, Prospect aims to serve as a trust provider for all sustainable energy access stakeholders.

Prospect was borne out of the climate technology experiences of two aligned efforts: the Edison data platform, built by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) to support the Beyond the Grid Fund for Zambia funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida); and the Climate Impact Payments Platform (CLIPP), developed by A2EI to prototype innovative impact monetization approaches.

“Sida has come to rely ever more on accurate, reliable and up-to-date data in our program planning and decision-making in the energy sector, and with Prospect we are investing in taking our existing efforts to the next level,” said Anders Arvidson of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, one of the donors behind Prospect. “We are thrilled to see this partnership between A2EI and GET.invest, which will also leverage GET.invest’s deep network and experience in advising and mobilizing investment for off-grid projects and companies.”

Stefan Zelazny, Prospect Project Lead and Managing Director at A2EI, explained: “Our mission is to provide a cutting-edge digital platform, advanced data analytics and technical support to anyone who enables, funds or delivers modern sustainable energy to underserved people, and do so reflecting a commitment to open-source and open access.”

“Together with A2EI and with the support from the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Austria, we are building next-generation data infrastructure for the off-grid sector that reflects the values of the Just Transition,” said John Tkacik, who coordinates Prospect at GET.invest.

Justin Mukosa, Manager Corporate Affairs at the Zambian Rural Electrification Authority (REA), one of the first official Prospect users: “REA Zambia is proud to be associated with A2EI and GET.invest in the development of an open data platform that would enable transparent access to high quality and verified data, contributing to the optimization of our ambitious electrification strategy. Further, high quality and verifiable data would enable REA to secure long-term financing. We believe that availability of data is key to swift scaling up and increased uptake of renewable off-grid energy projects in Africa.”

 

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About A2EI: A2EI is the first not-for-profit and collaborative research and development institute aiming to advance renewable energy access in emerging economies. It provides broad, reliable open-source data, as well as on-the-ground research and analysis of solar solutions, and software platforms to administer these. Additionally, A2EI develops and procures solar system and appliance prototypes and initiates pilot projects – aiming to provide widely scalable sustainable energy research and solutions as a common good. For more information, visit: www.a2ei.org.

About GET.invest: GET.invest is a leading programme that supports investments in private sector clean energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific region. The programme works across all relevant clean energy technologies and business models, assisting project developers and companies towards bankability and linking them with financiers. Since 2022, GET.invest powers the Team Europe One Stop Shop for Green Energy Investments, an access point for information about and facilitated access to European support and financing instruments for energy projects and companies. GET.invest is supported by the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Austria. For more information, visit: www.get-invest.eu.

27 October 2022: The global technology group Wärtsilä released today its new report “Nigeria Leading Africa to Net Zero”, which provides a detailed and realistic roadmap showing how Nigeria should proceed to build a 100% renewable energy power system by 2060.

As Nigeria seeks to take the lead in climate action whilst meeting the nation’s growing energy needs and secure universal access to electricity for its population, the need to build a data-driven and cost-effective energy strategy becomes crucial. Using advanced energy system modelling techniques, Wärtsilä’s analysts have outlined the most cost-effective power system that can be built in Nigeria year after year to reach net zero by 2060.

According to Wärtsilä’s report, the optimal power system will consist of 1,200 GW of renewable energy capacity and require a total of 283 GW of energy storage and 34 GW of engine-based power plants for grid balancing purposes. The research shows that investing in renewable energy and flexibility from gas engines and energy storage is the best way to reduce energy costs, increase energy access and improve grid reliability. With this strategy, the cost of electricity generation is predicted to drop by 74% by 2060 compared to 2022 levels, and carbon emissions will drop to zero.

This in-depth energy modelling exercise also reveals the key role that Nigeria’s domestic gas will play to enable a smooth energy transition. Nigeria’s vast domestic gas reserves can be mobilised as an inexpensive bridging fuel, to power balancing engines in support of intermittent renewable energy generation, until gas engine power plants begin to be converted to run purely on green hydrogen starting in the early forties.

“If the power system expansion roadmap presented to the report is successfully implemented, by 2060 Nigeria’s power system will be fully decarbonised and able to meet the energy needs of our country’s rapidly growing population. The key components of our power system will be renewables, supported energy storage technologies, together with grid-balancing engines that have been converted to run on green hydrogen.  As early as 2032, Nigeria can reach universal access to electricity, and the inefficient, expensive, and polluting diesel generators still widely used today will be ancient history.”, said Wale Yusuff, Managing Director of Wärtsilä in Nigeria.

However, delivering on this ambitious plan will require enormous investments, estimated at $18.7 Billion until 2030 and $425 Billion until 2060. “Attracting that level of investment is possible, but not without significant policy reforms. Despite the many government efforts to implement an increasingly strong legal framework, project developers and sponsors must still navigate a very complex and uncertain system that adds excessive investment risk.”, warned Wale Yusuff.

With its huge gas reserves and high renewable energy potential, Nigeria has all the natural resources necessary to lead the country to a successful energy transition. If the country can improve its power transmission infrastructure, develop a sound policy framework, and deploy a data-driven power expansion plan based on renewable energy and flexibility; it will take a giant step towards its goal of securing universal access to affordable, reliable and fully decarbonised electricity.

4 November 2022: After pioneering and leading the minigrid industry in rural Asia and Africa for 15 years, Husk Power Systems today released the first-ever industry roadmap for minigrid developers. The roadmap outlines a framework for growth and commercial viability for the solar minigrid industry in emerging markets, and lays out detailed metrics for achieving scale and sustainability.

The minigrid industry is at a crossroads: either it assumes a central role in ending energy poverty, or it becomes a marginal solution. Minigrids have been identified by the World Bank as the most cost effective and quickest way to provide modern electricity to nearly 500 million people, most of them in Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet the industry has yet to fully scale to its optimal capacity, with only 10% of the needed 200,000 microgrids currently in operation.

“Now more than ever, solar minigrids are a core solution for closing the energy access gap, and the World Bank has been scaling up its support for the industry,” said Jon Exel, team lead for the World Bank ESMAP’s global facility on minigrids. “The new industry roadmap clearly outlines actions needed from private sector companies to realize the full potential of solar minigrids. Policy and finance actions are also needed, such as embedding minigrids into national electrification plans and devising financing solutions more suitable for large portfolios of smaller projects.”

Industry roadmaps have proven instrumental for other industries in driving targeted investment and innovation that lead to scale, but the minigrid industry has never had one to guide unified action based on a commonly agreed upon set of targets and metrics..

Scaling Solar Hybrid Minigrids: An Industry Roadmap fills that gap, and identifies the key characteristics for sustainability and scale. It also selects the appropriate metrics and timelines for scale, which if met will ensure the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) – access to modern, affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all by 2030. The roadmap received input from more than a dozen leading institutions, including development banks, private sector trade groups, academics, think tanks and multilateral agencies.

“In spite of the urgent need, the minigrid industry has yet to produce a profitable company,” said the roadmap’s lead author Brad Mattson, who is chairman of Husk Power and board member of the Africa Minigrid Developers Association (AMDA). “There are strong signs that the industry is maturing, but remaining barriers to sustainability and scale require a new level of ambition and clarity, and a proven formula with quantifiable metrics.”

The roadmap translates the barriers to sustainability and scale into clear industry performance indicators, with a timeline that establishes a path to success. This not only provides targets for minigrid developers, but also the entire ecosystem of investors, donors, suppliers and regulators that support the minigrid sector. The roadmap lays a foundation for uniting that ecosystem around a set of common goals.

The roadmap reached several important conclusions on what actions are required by 2030 for the industry to scale and to be bankable, with a focus on cost, demand, quality of service and rate of deployment. A summary follows:

  • Sustainable business models are the highest priority: The industry requires viable business models that work at both the individual site level and at the portfolio level. The three components that drive this viability are cost, quality of service and demand. Long-term viability is only possible if companies move from a traditional utility model to an energy services model;
  • Key success metrics need an overhaul: To date, the industry has used Cost Per Connection (CPC) to measure cost. The roadmap recommends instead basing that metric on Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), the energy industry standard. In addition, Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) and Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) should be used as indicators of demand;
  • Costs must come down significantly: The industry should target a cost of electricity that is less than $0.20 kWh by 2030 if it is to both scale and offer customers affordable power, which means a more than 40% decline from current industry average costs;
  • Demand must go up significantly: Developers need to shift from a pure utility model to an energy services model, with a focus on increasing ARPU and CUF. This could include introducing appliance sales for households and businesses, and identifying and aggregating productive use off-takers. Both ARPU and CUF must more than double by the end of the decade for industry viability;
  • The industry needs companies with scale: In most industries, 3 companies typically account for 80% of market share. The minigrid industry is currently made up of dozens of companies with minimal scale. To achieve industry targets, 10 companies with 10 times the highest current annual construction capacity are needed;
  • Market segmentation is out-of-date: The industry needs to stop treating the market as a homogenous entity. Different markets need different solutions. The roadmap takes the pioneering step to define three major market types – commercially viable markets, bridge markets and concessionary markets – and starts the discussion about business models to address them.

 

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About Husk Power Systems: Founded in 2008, Husk Power Systems is the leading net-zero energy services company operating across rural Asia and Africa. Its smart and sustainable solutions, centered around community solar microgrids, accelerate access to clean, modern and affordable electricity and catalyze socio-economic development. Husk’s focus on the customer meets the growing aspirations of businesses and households, while its grid-integratable solution supports national electrification plans. For more information, visit: huskpowersystems.com.

7 November 2022: ZOLA Electric, the leading Emerging Market energy technology company, announces the successful launch of the first-of-its-kind, distributed mini-grid.

The groundbreaking mini-grid project, installed in the agricultural villages of Gakagati I and II in Nyagatare, Rwanda – the country’s largest and second most-populous district – will deliver clean, affordable, reliable power via ZOLA’s innovative INFINITY technology, to over 1,000 homes, businesses, schools and clinics.

The project received funding from Facebook, the Shell Foundation, USAID and Endev, and technical support from NXT Grid. After a ten month, three-phase rollout, the grid went online on 30th September 2022.

ZOLA provides distributed energy solutions that – as a network – enable community level electrification. It is the world-first technology platform purpose-built to deliver reliable, affordable and clean power to the 2.2 billion people and hundreds of millions of businesses globally, who currently lack access to it. A first of its kind, ZOLA’s distributed mini-grid – with decentralized and modular technology – allows infinite scaling to power not only villages, but also larger towns and cities. This modularity extends to the ability to connect and work together with a national grid or other mini-grids.

ZOLA’s mini-grid can grow smoothly with increases in energy consumption, unlike conventional solutions which struggle to adapt to changes in energy use and connectivity. The result is a better use of capital – directly leading to lower costs for end users, and more resilient, reliable and flexible power generation than the traditional centralized architecture that has stumbled for decades.

Rwanda’s economic, industrial and social development has been constrained by profound energy access and inequality issues. 90% of Rwandans lack reliable, affordable energy with nearly half having no access to electricity at all. While endowed with natural resources such as hydro, solar, and methane gas, Rwanda fills its Energy Access gap with diesel and kerosene. This results in some of the world’s highest energy costs for unreliable energy sources – the definition of Energy Inequality.

Bill Lenihan, CEO at ZOLA Electric, said:

“Via the Gakagati project, ZOLA is driving immense social impact across Rwandan communities most in need of clean, accessible, reliable, and affordable energy. The transformative potential and power of mini-grids in Rwanda, across Africa, and emerging markets more widely, is hugely exciting.

“As the world’s first distributed mini-grid, it is another significant milestone in ZOLA’s mission to solve Energy Access and Energy Equality in emerging markets – whilest also protecting the environment, supporting economic development and sustaining the livelihoods of those in need. We thank USAID, Facebook, the Shell Foundation and others for their backing and look forward to using mini-grids as a key part of our technology platform to support and connect communities across the world.”

Ashish Kumar, Climate & Innovation Lead at Shell Foundation, said:

“We are pleased to support ZOLA Electric’s project to launch the world’s first distributed mini grid. ZOLA has long been a leading innovator in the energy access and transition space and this new project is tremendously exciting. Although the technology is continuing to mature, the emerging data from the initial phased roll out has shown huge potential for it to be rolled out more widely across emerging markets.”

The 120 kWp Gakagati project is transforming the lives of the local community by powering 931 homes, 58 businesses, three religious centers, a school, a health center, and five irrigation systems, with an expected gradual capacity expansion to 240kWp over two years. The grid runs on solar energy supplied by African renewables champion – Equatorial Power.

Central to the new grid are ZOLA’s INFINITY BOXES, a crucial innovation on the path to decentralized, smart energy supply. Built from peer-to-peer, modular AC units, INFINITY provides a versatile and infinitely scalable energy solution for the largely unelectrified agricultural villages Gakagati I and II. In comparison to a typical grid – in a clustered and centralized location – ZOLA’s boxes and panels are distributed throughout the village.

To support and monitor its network, ZOLA employs its management software platform, VISION, enabling adjustments without any decline in service – underpinning the grid’s reliability and performance. VISION is INFINITY’s competitive differentiator, as it grows with demand, conducts accurate demand assessment, optimizes the network and drives down operating costs.

The impact of INFINITY, ZOLA’s mini-grids technology is significant and effective against Energy Inequality in all markets, urban or rural serving residential, commercial or industrial Energy Access customers. By combining unprecedented scalability with cost efficiency, INFINITY-powered mini-grids are set to be a turnkey factor in developing a sustainable Emerging Market energy infrastructure built for the 21st century.

9 November 2022: The World Bank Group announced today an innovative initiative to accelerate the pace of electrification in Africa to achieve universal access by 2030. The World Bank, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and other development agencies will promote private investment in distributed renewable energy (DRE) systems to electrify targeted areas quickly and efficiently. The Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up Platform (DARES) calls for joint action by government, private investors, and development agencies to solve Africa’s immediate needs while developing DRE solutions that can be applied globally.

At current rates of electrification, over a half billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will still be without electricity in 2030 unless the current electrification pace is tripled. Present projections indicate that only eight SSA countries will achieve universal electricity access by 2030, and some will take over 100 years to fully electrify. The lack of energy access greatly inhibits green, resilient, and inclusive development of many countries in SSA. The expansion of access through DRE systems will answer an urgent need quickly and support climate resilience, food security, and human capital development goals.

DRE systems generally involve a solar photo-voltaic station paired with battery storage. In rural communities, these systems can serve a health care facility, for example, or a group of customers such as households or businesses in a village, operating independently from the national power grid.  DRE systems can be easily installed, are reliable, and do not require the large investment needed to build a utility-scale power plant.

“Now more than ever we need innovative solutions that close the energy access gap,” said Riccardo Puliti, World Bank Vice President for Infrastructure. “Bringing together government and the private sector to support distributed renewable energy can help extend electrification to the most vulnerable while also advancing clean energy.”

DRE is the fastest and most cost-effective mechanism to accelerate clean electricity access on the continent. Over the last 10 years, 20 percent of all new electric connections in SSA have been through DRE systems. While DRE is now attracting private sector financing, this support is not at the scale that is needed.

DARES will leverage this positive momentum to work with governments and the private sector to expand DRE investment. The World Bank Group is well-positioned to take the lead in scaling the DRE sector in SSA, using a different approach from traditional infrastructure investments to incentivize private financing commitment.

“MIGA is in a strong position to support private investment through new and innovative risk mitigation solutions that are fit-for-purpose for the unique risk faced by investors,” said Hiroshi Matano, MIGA Executive Vice President. “We look forward to working with Sub-Saharan African countries to create opportunities to combine public and private investment approaches to electrify Africa in the near future.”

DARES will leverage World Bank, MIGA, and IFC expertise to create a joint cross-sectoral approach to develop innovative financial and de-risking instruments to be rolled out at a regional level. The platform also provides for significant technical assistance for governments and the private sector and differentiated approaches consistent with unique country contexts and markets. A key goal in this respect is to tackle barriers to private sector participation to give SSA countries the ability to mobilize DRE systems faster, while making them, greener, more resilient, and inclusive.

DARES will have five core areas: mini-grids, off-grid solar markets, systems for schools and health facilities, solar irrigation and cold chain for farmers, and innovative business models to displace diesel generation and improve access reliability.

“Investing in distributed renewable energy is one of the most efficient ways to tackle energy access challenges and to support economic activities in Africa while addressing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Emmanuel Nyirinkindi, IFC Vice President of Cross-Cutting Solutions. “Mini-grid systems are one example of DRE and can efficiently deliver energy to cities and rural areas outside the limits of a national grid.”

The World Bank has an active portfolio of $2.7 billion for DRE access, targeting electrification of about 40 million people. IFC has initiated the Scaling Mini Grids Program and is building on its Lighting Africa Engagement. MIGA has $83 million in DRE guarantees and a $400 million pipeline. MIGA is developing “fit-for-purpose” instruments that address the unique risks faced by distributed energy investors and is actively engaging with partners to bring together complementary solutions for its DRE clients.

DARES responds to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7, which calls for “affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all” by 2030. These core targets are at the platform’s foundation to ensure universal access to Sub-Saharan-Africa.

The impact of this initiative goes beyond electrifying Africa. Electricity is the foundational enabler to address other critical initiatives such as food insecurity, gender equality, climate resilience, and health.  Electrification will open more options to solve these issues.

 

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About World Bank Group: The World Bank Group plays a key role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. It consists of five institutions: the World Bank, including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA); the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Working together in more than 100 countries, these institutions provide financing, advice, and other solutions that enable countries to address the most urgent challenges of development. For more information, visit: www.worldbank.org, www.miga.org, and www.ifc.org.

14 November 2022: Financing of one million euros, under the fourth edition of Access to Energy Fund, reinforces EDP’s social impact strategy in emerging economies and its focus on ensuring a fair energy transition. The projects now selected will benefit close to one million people in four African countries.

EDP will support nine more projects that promote access to renewable energy in remote and vulnerable communities in four African countries: Mozambique, Nigeria, Angola and Malawi. The total funding of one million euros – guaranteed by the A2E Fund (Access to Energy) – will have a direct impact in priority areas such as health, agriculture, education and access to drinking water, involving more than one million direct and indirect beneficiaries.

The use of decentralised solar energy and energy storage technologies are at the basis of all the projects selected in this fourth edition of A2E Fund, in a total of 158 applications. Among these projects, there is, for example, a system of solar suitcases that supply energy to maternity hospitals, micro-electric grids to supply clinical posts, solar systems for agricultural production or cold storage in local markets.

EDP thus reinforces its social impact strategy, promoting energy inclusion in more disadvantaged territories. In the case of Africa, which represents around 70% of the world’s population without access to electricity, this support is another contribution to meeting the needs of decarbonisation, climate action and access to energy – this is, in fact, one of the topics on the agenda of COP27, the United Nations Climate Conference, which is being held in Egypt until 18 November.

“Access to electricity is crucial to ensure the security and development of any community – and is an impactful issue in many remote communities or in more vulnerable situations in sub-Saharan Africa. Our commitment, now reinforced with the funding of nine more projects, is to continue contributing to facilitate this access to clean, safe and low-cost energy in these communities, and thus promote energy inclusion,” adds Vera Pinto Pereira, executive board member of EDP and responsible for the group’s global social impact strategy.

“The positive impact that EDP wants to have is measured by each of the lives that we help to change with this support. Whether it’s a child who can now study at night in their home because they have lighting, a doctor or nurse who now has emergency equipment to assist births and surgeries, or a saleswoman who can preserve their fresh produce in the market for longer and thus increase their family income.”

One million more people benefited

Nigeria, with four projects, and Mozambique, with three, are once again the countries with the most proposals selected in this fourth edition of the A2E Fund. Regarding Nigeria, the chosen promoters are We Care Solar (energy for maternity hospitals), Konexa (electrification of clinical posts and adjacent communities), Reeddi (solar capsules for families and small businesses) and Optimal Greening Foundation (drinking water and sanitation project).

In Mozambique, the entities selected were the Educafrica Association (electrification of school and community equipment in a fishing island), ADPP Mozambique (refrigeration system for fish market) and Fundación Energia sin Fronteras (electrification of an orphanage farm). Fundación Cuerama, with a project for the electrification of equipment serving a community, is the selected promoter in Angola, and aQysta Malawi, with a solar powered agricultural processing system, is the chosen project in Malawi.

With this fourth edition of the A2E Fund – a corporate social responsibility fund that doubled the amount of funding to 1 million euros in 2022 – EDP continues the program started in 2018. In the three previous editions, the fund has already provided a total of 1.5 million euros to support 20 projects in seven African countries (Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania) that have contributed to improving the lives of 80,000 people and indirectly, more than one million. A positive impact that is reinforced in this new edition of the program, which is estimated to benefit directly more than 40 thousand people and indirectly more than 900 thousand in these territories.

EDP thus reinforces its commitment to the planet’s sustainability, through the dissemination of renewable energies and the fight against poverty and electric exclusion that still affect the lives of millions of people, especially in remote rural communities in developing countries. The support to these projects is thus a decisive contribution to ensure a more sustainable, inclusive and fair future, in line with the company’s own ambition of being totally green by 2030.

 

All the projects, one by one

NIGERIA

  • We Care Solar

In a country with one of the highest maternity mortality rates in the world (19%), where about 300,000 women and one million newborns die due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth, according to WHO data, Nigeria’s neo-natal healthcare system is among the worst in the world. We Care Solar believes that energy can save lives. Its plan is to provide clean energy to 60 primary health centres with delivery rooms equipped with solar ‘suitcases’, which ensure lighting and the operation of emergency medical equipment – a solution that could help save 32,000 mothers and babies every year.

  • Konexa Eletricity

The electricity grid in Kaduna State has limited rural coverage and is not stable, providing only an average of 3-4 hours of electricity per day in electrified areas. Agricultural communities, located kilometres away from the grid, have no reliable access to power, forcing healthcare providers to work with candles at night and families to rely on charcoal and wood at home. With its project, Konexa aims to electrify five primary health care centres and 375 homes in the surrounding communities. With this project, more than 2,250 people (including 930 children) will switch to clean energy, reducing their exposure to toxic fumes and improving their health services.

  • Reeddi Tecnhologies

Access to electricity is critical for the social and economic development of communities in sub-Saharan Africa. This is the case in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, where around 70 million people have no access to energy and more than 50 million, despite being connected to the grid, get no more than four hours of electricity a day. Reeddi found a solution by distributing capsules – a kind of small portable batteries – to 400 homes and small shops in four communities. This clean, affordable and reliable energy solution not only reduces energy bills by more than 30%, but also makes it possible to increase the income of more than 70 local small businesses.

  • Optimal Greening Foundation

More than 58 million people in urban areas in Nigeria live without basic sanitation – notably in Lagos, where only 10% of the population has access to clean piped water. It is precisely in this city that this foundation is now developing a sanitation and access to clean water project in an island community (AGALA), 30 minutes by boat from Lagos. With 221 households (about 1,100 people), this community will benefit from the implementation of a water treatment system and other equipment powered by solar energy. The aim is to empower community members by creating at least 25 jobs for youth and women, who will be trained to operate, manage and secure these facilities after the implementation of the project.

MOZAMBIQUE

  • Associação Educafrica

On Mbenguelene Island, 160 families live isolated and without electricity, with only one transport boat available. In this community, which lives from fishing and agriculture, 80 children learn under hoses and there is a high level of teacher absenteeism due to the fact that they do not have a place to live during the school year. Educafrica wants to change this reality by providing clean energy to the new school facilities and teachers’ house that it has started to build, allowing students to improve their education and teachers to have dignified living conditions, with lighting in the house, a water pump or a refrigerator. In addition, the population will have a boat with an electric motor, which will allow them to transport people and goods more quickly and easily.

  • ADPP Moçambique

Fishing activity in the Cahora Bassa region has a significant social impact for more than 10,300 people, as it contributes to food security, employment and family income. However, fishers have limited access to specialized equipment and markets and are not prepared to participate in management models. In addition, the number of market infrastructure is restricted and the sales volume is very small. How to change this? Equipping fishermen with solar powered refrigeration and freezing machines is the first step. The project will also provide a solar energy system and equipment to a fish market. This change promotes a new entrepreneurial mindset among fishermen and aims to help increase fishermen’s income and resilience to the impact of climate change.

  • Fundación Energia sin Fronteras

As manager of 500 hectares of agricultural land, Casa do Gaiato provides a source of food for vegetables (corn, potatoes, onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, cabbages…) and meat (chickens, pigs, calves, etc.) for the children and young people on the estate, as well as for the 165 women and their families who live in the surrounding area of the farm known as the Fazenda. To reduce high electricity costs, as well as supply failures, and eliminate the use of polluting fuels such as diesel, a photovoltaic solar system and another storage system will be installed on the agricultural area of this orphanage, and at the school, which will now have a sustainable and reliable energy supply at affordable prices.

ANGOLA

  • Fundação Cuerama

In the heart of Kwanza Sul province, the community of Cuerama suffers from isolation, the lack of roads to nearby villages and access to a telecommunications network. Reversing this scenario has become a priority for the Cuerama Foundation since 2015. To provide a better service the community will provide clean energy to the new facilities, such as the medical centre (for vaccine refrigeration, diagnostic equipment), the primary school and the school canteen (food preservation), among other interventions. Around 5,000 people will benefit from this project, which will also enhance the possibility of working with machinery and electrical equipment in carpentry, sewing, basketry, pottery, agriculture, and the artisanal production of soap.

MALAWI

  • aQysta Malawi

The annual agricultural income of 15 million people in Malawi (80% of the total population) who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods is extremely low. With limited harvests throughout the year and struggling to get fresh produce to take quickly to markets, these farmers are forced to accept the low prices offered to them and so their financial condition remains critically fragile. With this project that uses solar energy in the post-harvest agricultural phase, about 1,000 farmers will have access to conservation and processing technologies powered by renewable energy and will be trained in good agricultural practices to meet the demands of buyers. This could represent a 200% increase in their income, but also a relevant step in solving other problems, such as feeding children in Malawi – for example, one of the crops processed are peanuts, used by a partner organisation in treatments for children with subnutrition problems.

15 November 2022: The Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE), Business Eswatini (BE) and the Renewable Energy Association of Eswatini (REAESWA) organised the EU Green Power Transformation Forum Workshop on the 9th of November 2022 in Mbabane. The event was held with the support of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Eswatini and the two European programmes GET.invest and GET.transform.

This hybrid workshop convened public and private sector representatives to enable business partnerships and knowledge sharing to catalyse investments and power sector reform to support the energy transition in Eswatini. The workshop was a great success, with more than 80 participants joining the debate and discussing opportunities for the energy transition in Eswatini on-site and over 50 people following the workshop online.

The agenda was opened by Constance Vanzuydam, Chairperson of REAESWA, and followed by welcome notes from ARE, GIZ, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy and the EU Delegation to Eswatini before moving on to presentations on the basics of renewable energy, the legal and policy frameworks of the country with a focus on the 2050 Energy Master Plan Eswatini. The existing generation investment plans and some examples of success stories in the country were also shared with the participants.

The workshop then continued with two roundtables on the role of different actors in the renewable energy sector of the country and bankability and project financing. A final panel discussion addressed the skilled job force for the Eswatini renewable energy sector.

The event was hosted in the context of the EU Green Power Transformation Forum, which included the launch of a country window of the impact investment facility Electrification Financing Initiative (ElectriFI), as well as the launch of the Eswatini country window of GET.invest and GET.transform, which are supported by the EU, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria. ElectriFI is set to increase access to clean energy in Eswatini through providing suitable finance to companies and project developers. Hand in hand with this, GET.invest and GET.transform will deploy their global services and tailor them to the local requirements. More concretely, they will leverage their expertise on the private and public sector to support conducive renewable energy sector regulations and mobilise investments in private renewable energy projects. With this holistic approach, the new country windows thus contribute to developing truly viable energy sector solutions in Eswatini.

Dessislava Choumelova, EU Ambassador to Eswatini pointed out: “We are pleased to see these experienced programmes starting their work in Eswatini now. We believe the workshop and programmes will be the starting point of a new era for the renewable energy sector in Eswatini in bringing together all relevant actors to discuss all the key drivers for a good business environment for renewables.”

“The workshop was a great kick-off for the activities of GET.invest and GET.transform in Eswatini. Bringing together renewable energy stakeholders from both the public and private sector, it allowed us to establish the common ground and the valuable links we need to help advance Eswatini’s energy transition” summarised Ferdinand Nell, Country Coordinator for GET.invest and GET.transform Eswatini.

Overall, the EU Green Power Transformation Forum Workshop stressed how renewable solutions in Eswatini’s energy mix are a prerequisite to meeting the country’s aim of universal access to clean energy while ensuring that sustainability remains a key pillar in these efforts.

Jens Jæger, Director of Policy & Business Development at ARE underlined that: “Building on Eswatini’s commitment to renewable energies, we are happy to see significant momentum for the clean energy transition in the country. ARE is looking forward to further support Eswatini in reaching its universal electrification and climate change targets through moblisation of the decentralised renewable energy industry.”

15 November 2022: Launched today at the United Nations Climate Conference COP27, the Africa Minigrids Program (AMP) is a country-led technical assistance program that supports countries to rapidly and cost-effectively provide electricity and new development opportunities to some of Africa’s poorest communities.

With funding led by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and implemented by UNDP in partnership with national governments, RMI (founded as Rocky Mountain Institute) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), the AMP’s market transformation approach aims to help countries crowd in private investment to scale up and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy minigrids.

Minigrids are stand-alone electricity networks that are typically not connected to the national electricity grid. Solar-battery minigrids hold great potential to boost electricity access in the AMP’s 21 countries – powering households, key social services such as health centers and schools, and businesses, driving economic growth. UNDP modelling estimates that minigrids will be the lowest-cost approach to bring electricity to 265 million people in these countries by the year 2030. US$65 billion in new investments, primarily from the private sector, would be needed to realize the minigrid opportunity in such countries. This is estimated to equate to the construction of 110,000 minigrids, bringing electricity to more than 200,000 schools and clinics, and more than 900,000 businesses.

“We know that innovative policies, technologies, and business models to scale up existing solutions are needed to achieve SDG 7 on universal access to affordable and reliable energy – business-as-usual won’t do,” said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator. “The AMP is UNDP’s most ambitious electricity access program to date. Its market transformation approach aims to deliver impact at the pace and scale needed to effectively help countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, leaving no-one behind.”

“Improving access to clean energy in remote areas has so many benefits — it directly improves quality of life, creates job opportunities particularly for women, and also reduces carbon emissions,” added Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO and Chairperson of the GEF. “This is why the GEF is investing in energy access as part of our mission to invest in the planet. I am thrilled to see the Africa Minigrids Program advance and look forward to sharing the lessons from its rollout across our partnership and in all the countries and communities we are supporting in the clean energy transition.”

With a focus on various cost-reduction levers, AMP aims to support scale-up investment by improving the financial viability of minigrids. The program will work with countries to put in place the policies and regulations that enable large-scale private investment, durably creating the conditions for renewable energy minigrids to be deployed at scale.

Scaling up action to bring new sustainable development opportunities across Africa

Access to energy is a precondition to socio-economic development. Yet half of the people living in sub-Saharan Africa – 568 million people – don’t have access to electricity, effectively locking some of the world’s most vulnerable communities in poverty. The AMP aims to bring the development benefits of energy access to a wide array of communities across the continent by focusing on supporting productive uses of energy, which supports socio-economic development by enhancing the quality of sectors that require energy input such as agriculture, healthcare, education, and small businesses.

“We cannot achieve the Sustainable Development Goals without sustainable energy for all. It is urgent to drastically scale-up solutions that close the energy access gap. We must address this blatant inequality,” said Ahunna Eziakonwa, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Africa at UNDP. “The AMP has the potential to be a game changer for millions of people in Africa.”

“Green minigrids are not only key to closing Africa’s energy access gap, they can also provide a critical impetus to socio-economic development in rural areas, boost climate resilience and displace carbon-intensive fuel sources,” added Dr Daniel Schroth, Director, Department of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, African Development Bank. “We are therefore delighted to join the AMP partnership led by UNDP to deliver the much-needed upstream work on minigrids, and look forward to bringing the catalytic finance instruments of the African Development Bank and Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa to make these projects happen on the ground.”

Building on a rich community of minigrid stakeholders together with our partners

The AMP aims to complement activities supporting minigrid investment in Africa, and has therefore identified three key areas of opportunities to focus on: national dialogues to identify the best ways to deploy minigrids; productive use of energy, and digitalization for minigrids.

The 21 AMP countries represent a diverse set of African countries, each with their own energy market specificities and development contexts: large and smaller markets; Anglophone, Francophone, and Lusophone countries; small island developing states; and countries in post-crisis contexts.

“The AMP aims to harness the diversity and richness of Africa’s minigrids landscape”, said Jon Creyts, CEO of RMI. “With RMI’s Energy Transition Academy, and our Africa team’s long-standing expertise in productive uses of energy, we will create a powerful network that will replicate our think-do-scale approach on minigrids in areas lacking adequate energy access around the world.”

The AMP is a key component of UNDP’s pledge to mobilize partners through its Sustainable Energy Hub to enable 500 million additional people to have access to sustainable, affordable, reliable energy by 2025. AMP’s implementation has already started with the launch of the Nigeria and Eswatini national projects in 2022 and will continue until 2027.

 

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Program information: The participating 21 AMP countries are: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome e Principe, Somalia, Sudan, Zambia.

For more information, visit the AMP webpage: www.africaminigrids.org.

22 November 2022: CarbonAi Inc. (CarbonAi) is proud to announce that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) of Nigeria to identify and develop small-scale solar energy projects in that country. The projects will be funded by proceeds from carbon credits that are generated through CarbonAi-financed and developed flare gas capture projects in Nigeria.

Under the MOU, the parties will explore opportunities to finance and develop solar energy projects in unserved or underserved communities near CarbonAi’s flare gas capture projects in Nigeria. The REA will apply its knowledge of Nigeria’s rural electrification requirements and programs to identify appropriate project opportunities and liaise with local communities.

CarbonAi, in turn, will apply its carbon finance and project development expertise to finance, design and construct the projects. The company will also quantify, verify and monetize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions using its proprietary data management platform.

The REA is an implementation agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria under the Ministry of Power. It is primarily tasked with promoting and increasing access to electricity in unserved and underserved rural communities across Nigeria.

CarbonAi is a world-leading developer of fully integrated GHG reduction projects and GHG emissions quantification and monetization solutions. Based in Calgary and Dubai, the company provides full-cycle flare gas capture services in Africa and the Middle East, from project finance, design and construction to carbon credit quantification, verification and sale. For each project that CarbonAi develops, it invests a portion of carbon credit revenues to help local organizations develop sustainability initiatives through the CarbonAi Climate Dividend Programme.

“We are excited to work with the REA as our CarbonAi Climate Dividend Programme partner in Nigeria,” stated CarbonAi’s Chief Carbon Officer, Yvan Champagne. ”We are strong believers in win-win outcomes, and we believe our Climate Dividend Programme captures the spirit of the energy transition by leveraging immediate reductions in today’s energy system to build the energy system of tomorrow in Nigeria.”

Flaring of gas is a common practice in oil and gas activities worldwide; however, it generates high levels of GHGs and harmful local pollutants, often creating serious local air and water quality issues. Nigeria has the third highest number of gas flares globally, but the country has pledged to eliminate the practice by 2025. Many communities in Nigeria’s high-flaring regions do not currently have access to reliable electricity. The parties believe this MOU will be an important step in providing reliable renewable energy to local communities that are currently unserved and underserved, while improving local air quality associated with gas flaring.

Managing Director/CEO of the REA, Engr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad added that “REA’s collaboration with CarbonAi is timely and solution-driven. The off-grid space in Nigeria is undergoing commendable growth. With the resultant opportunities, key stakeholders must take the responsibility to leverage these opportunities to accelerate sustainable impact, nationwide. This is another strategic and innovative way to finance climate-resilient infrastructure in Nigeria while alleviating energy poverty.”

 

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About the Rural Electrification Agency (REA): The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is the Implementing Agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), under the Federal Ministry of Power, tasked with the electrification of unserved and underserved communities with the aim to catalyse economic growth and improve quality of life for Nigerians. The REA is currently administering the Rural Electrification Fund (REF) and implementing the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) and several initiatives in furtherance of its mandate.

To give effect to some of its initiatives, REA has obtained financing amounting to $550 million ($350 million from the World Bank and $200 million from the African Development Bank) for financing the Nigeria Electrification Project, and an additional $11 million for financing the Rural Electrification Fund for the deployment of Solar hybrid mini grids and solar home systems. These funds will ensure that millions of Nigerians have access to clean, safe, reliable, and affordable electricity. For more information, visit: https://rea.gov.ng.

About CarbonAi: CarbonAi is a world-leading developer of fully integrated greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction projects and GHG emissions quantification and monetization data solutions. Based in Calgary, Canada and Dubai, The Company provides full-cycle GHG reduction services, from project finance, construction and operation to carbon credit quantification, verification and sale. It also offers a cloud-based data platform to integrate and manage GHG emissions data from numerous, diverse and dispersed data sources, allowing for real-time emissions monitoring and forecasting, as well as streamlined verification and crediting. For more information, visit: www.CarbonAi.ca.

30 November 2022: The Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa (BGFA) programme has signed its first agreements in Uganda to support the expansion and scale-up of high-quality solar home systems. The projects will scale up energy access in rural and peri-urban areas in the country with the help of results-based financing provided from the programme.

The first projects have been signed with d.light Design Uganda and ENGIE Energy Access Uganda. The total value of the two first agreements is approx. EUR 5.2 million, enabling the establishment of up to 370,000 high-quality energy service connections, which will benefit approx. 1.8 million people.

d.light is a local solar distributor in Uganda, established in 2016 as an operational subsidiary of the d.light Group. The company enables reliable power through solar energy solutions with a Pay-As-You-Go business model. The company has sold over 25 million products, including solar lanterns, solar home systems, TVs, radios and smartphones. d.light is planning to distribute 200,000 new high-quality, clean and affordable solar home systems in its existing areas of operation in the country and to grow its distribution partnerships in new geographic areas of Uganda.

“Our 2030 goal is to help transform the lives of 1 billion people through access to our sustainable products. We are very excited to partner with the BGFA programme to expand our activities in Uganda. The received financing will enable us to scale up energy access faster in rural areas of Uganda, benefiting approx. 1 million people,” comments Nick Imudia, CEO at d.light.

“We are very happy to support d.light Uganda to help the company scale up access to affordable off-grid solar home systems in the country. With the results-based financing from the BGFA programme, this project will contribute to improving the quality of life of people living in rural and peri-urban areas in Uganda,” says Aliona Fomenco, Programme Manager at Nefco.

ENGIE Energy Access Uganda (previously Fenix International) was established in 2013 as a subsidiary of the French mother company ENGIE. ENGIE Energy Access Uganda has sold over 700,000 solar home systems in Uganda, bringing clean, reliable power for lights, phones, radios and TVs. Now, the company intends to further scale up its existing business activities by setting up, up to 170,000 new high-quality energy service subscriptions to customers in rural and peri-urban areas of Uganda. The company will provide energy services through sales of solar home systems at affordable prices and scale at a pace that would not be possible without the BGFA funding.

“We are excited to partner with BGFA over the next four years and improve the lives of over 800,000 people with our solar entry-level kits. Thanks to the use of digital tools and strong penetration of mobile money in sub-Saharan Africa, we sell access to energy products to our customers on credit to make them affordable. With the much-needed support from impact investors such as BGFA, we will be able to provide sustainable, renewable energy to communities that are most vulnerable and help them climb the energy ladder,” comments Gillian-Alexandre Huart, CEO of ENGIE Energy Access.

“We are very happy to continue our cooperation with ENGIE Energy Access with this new project in Uganda and support its business expansion and scale-up of solar home systems on the market and the creation of approx. 170,000 new energy connections,” says Kari Hämekoski, Senior Programme Manager at Nefco.

The supported projects will help to improve the affordability of off-grid energy products in Uganda. From a longer-term perspective, the projects will increase job opportunities, enable better quality education and support the transformation of increased usage of renewable energy sources. In addition to these first two projects, Nefco is currently negotiating further project agreements also with local Ugandan companies. The BGFA expansion in Uganda is financed by Denmark and Sweden.

The Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa has so far contracted 13 projects: 2 from Uganda (BGFA3) and 11 from its first funding round in Burkina Faso, Liberia and Zambia (BGFA1). Further projects are under negotiation from both BGFA1 and BGFA3. The latest and fourth funding round (BGFA4) opened in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in June 2022 and launched its second stage of the application process earlier in November, inviting successful applicants to submit their Final Applications.

 

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About d.light Design Uganda: d.light is a global leader in making transformative products available and affordable to low-income families. d.light enables reliable power through solar energy solutions and financing with Pay-As-You-Go technology. The company has sold over 25 million products including solar lanterns, solar home systems, TVs, radios and smartphones, aiming to transform the lives of 1 billion people with sustainable products. For more information, visit: www.dlight.com.

About ENGIE Energy Access: ENGIE Energy Access is one of the leading Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGo) and mini-grid solutions providers in Africa, with a mission to deliver affordable, reliable and sustainable energy solutions and life-changing services with exceptional customer experience. The company is a result of the integration of Fenix International, ENGIE Mobisol and ENGIE PowerCorner, and it develops innovative, off-grid solar solutions for homes, public services and businesses, giving customers and distribution partners access to clean, affordable energy. The PAYGo solar home systems are financed through affordable instalments from USD 0.19 per day and the mini-grids foster economic development by enabling electrical productive use and triggering business opportunities for entrepreneurs in rural communities. For more information, visit: www.engie-energyaccess.com.

About BGFA: The Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa is a multi-donor facility established and managed by the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (Nefco). Nefco is an international financial institution based in Helsinki, Finland, focusing on environmental and climate investments. BGFA is implemented in partnership with NIRAS and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP). NIRAS is a development and engineering consultancy company headquartered in Denmark with offices in over 25 countries across Europe, Africa, South Asia and Latin America. REEEP is an international multilateral partnership based in Vienna, Austria, that works to accelerate market-based deployment of renewable energy and energy-efficiency solutions in developing countries. For more information, visit: beyondthegrid.africa.

1 December 2022: The UK government-funded Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP), which is managed by Camco, has chalked up another successful investment exit. REPP initially invested in mini-grid developer ARC Power in 2019 and has now recovered its investment while continuing to support the company through a partial equity conversion.

REPP’s initial convertible loan in 2019, and an additional convertible loan in 2020, has enabled ARC Power to pursue its ambitious plan to build a large portfolio of solar mini-grids in Rwanda.

The early-stage financing has proved critical in helping the British-based developer to finalise the initial phase of the project, which involved the construction of four mini-grid generation systems serving six distribution networks. These networks are now supplying electricity to 14 villages in Bugesera and Gatsibo Districts and have so far connected over 10,000 people, 153 microbusinesses and 3 critical services to electricity for the first time.

Rwanda has set a target of universal energy access by 2024, and ARC Power is currently working on a collaboration with the Government of Rwanda to accelerate progress through the construction of grid-connected mini-grids and standalone systems.

Under the exit deal, REPP has agreed to a repayment of the loans as well as a partial equity conversion. The repayment will settle ARC Power’s debt to REPP, while the equity conversion will further support ARC Power’s expansion plans in Rwanda.

Ben Hugues, Investment Director and REPP Lead at Camco, said: “When REPP first invested in ARC Power it was not without its risks, but we saw great potential in the company and its leadership. Today our faith has been rewarded, with our early-stage investments playing a critical role in crowding in additional lenders and enabling ARC Power to deliver on its phase one objectives.”

He added: “The repayment of the loans, with partial conversion of the accrued interest into equity, secures REPP’s capital and retains significant upside exposure. It also demonstrates our continued faith in the company to deliver on its impressive plans for expansion and asserting itself as one of the leading mini-grid developers in the region.”

Outside of Rwanda, ARC Power has recently secured the largest national concession to roll out mini-grids in Mozambique through its in-country partners, with construction due to start imminently on a large mini-grid in Gaza Province that will connect more than 3,000 people to electricity for the first time. The project has been made possible after ARC Power secured additional financing from an existing funder, which was mobilised as a direct result of REPP’s equity conversion and the increased confidence in the developer it has brought.

Karl Boyce, CEO of ARC Power, said: “We are very pleased to have REPP as a shareholder ahead of our next phase of growth. Having successfully delivered the first phase, ARC Power has secured a significant pipeline across four countries in East and Southern Africa, and we are now working on our Series-A to allow us to really scale in line with our vision of building a pan-African clean utility business.”

 

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About REPP: The Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP), managed by Camco, works to mobilise private sector development activity – and investment – in small to medium-sized projects (typically up to 25MW) in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is supported with funding from the UK’s International Climate Finance through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and, to date, has agreed contracts with 38 renewable energy projects across 18 countries, employing seven different technologies, from solar home systems and PV mini-grids to onshore wind and run-of-river hydro. For more information, visit: https://repp.energy.

About Camco: Camco is a specialist climate and impact fund manager, leading the transition in emerging markets. We offer clean, secure investments, pairing the conscience of a development bank with the agility of a private company. Camco is an Accredited Entity of the Green Climate Fund and is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. The company has offices in Accra, Auckland, Helsinki, Johannesburg, London, Nairobi, Singapore, Sydney and Toronto. For more information, visit: https://camco.fm.

About ARC Power: ARC Power provides affordable, reliable and clean solar electricity to communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. We design, develop and install both off-grid and grid-tied AC power generation systems (ARCs) and distribution networks that provide 24-hour electricity, becoming the hub of the community and empowering families and small businesses to thrive. ARC Power is redefining the nature of energy provision and the relationship between energy companies and national energy providers, leveraging proven expertise to rapidly deploy high quality ‘first-time’ energy while complimenting national grid expansion, grid stability and the clean energy mix. For more information, visit: https://www.arcpower.co/.

1 December 2022: In the context of the 1st Conference “OFF-GRID ENERGY REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE” the Government of Mozambique, as part of the efforts to ensure Universal Access to Energy by 2030, announced that it has developed and approved with the competent bodies within the Ministry of Mineral and Energy Resources the package of technical regulations complementing Decree 93/2021 Regulation on access to off grid Energy.

With the approval of this package of regulations, and the implementation of subsequent formalization and publication steps, the path to accelerated access to energy for all is becoming a reality.

The list of regulations and instruments is inclusive of: Regulation on concessions for mini-grids and registration for energy services; Regulation on technical and safety standards; Regulation on interconnection; Regulation on the standards of quality of service and commercial relations, Regulation on mini-grid tariffs; among other instruments.

This regulatory framework marks a new era for the energy sector and especially for mini-grid developers and operators to be able to work in Mozambique; therefore the country joins the other neighbouring countries with mechanisms to catalyze the off-grid energy sector and ensure the necessary conditions for the private sector to accelerate its investments and scale its operations in a diverse set of technologies applicable to the off-grid context, such as solar home systems, mini-grids and improved cooking solutions.

The Energy Regulatory Authority (ARENE), in collaboration with the National Energy Fund (FUNAE), the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME), the BRILHO Programme (funded by the Governments of the United Kingdom and Sweden, and implemented by the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation), and specific contributions from other entities, developed this package of regulations that represents a strategic leap to provide quality energy solutions to the entire population, including those in off grid areas.

This important advance, announced in the context of the 1st Regional Conference on the Regulatory Framework for the off-grid energy sector, comes at a time when the Government of Mozambique is preparing to initiate the implementation of the new framework.

“This regulatory framework for off-grid energy is solid, resulting from intense work that was led by the Government of Mozambique and with continued support from SNV-BRILHO. We are committed to the development of the off-grid energy sector, where the private sector plays a central role. The private sector is recognized as a partner of the Government on this path for the country to achieve universal access targets by 2030.” – António Saíde – Vice – Minister of Energy and National Resources.

“Investment in the off-grid sector is critical for human development and social growth, as it is part of the measures to reduce and mitigate the impacts of climate change.” – Dominic Ashton – Development Director of the United Kingdom High Commission.

“The regulatory framework will allow leveraging of private investments; which is key to achieve the targets set by the national electrification strategy.“- Mette Sunnergren – Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden.

“The work developed in the context of the partnership of the Government of Mozambique with SNV – BRILHO is of immense quality, which leads SNV to have as a plan its replication in other geographies.” – Simon Oconnell – CEO da SNV.

“This represents a major achievement for the off-grid sector in Mozambique. It will contribute to accelerating and increasing access to energy through solar home systems and green mini-grids for electrification, and clean cooking solutions, benefiting households and businesses with a greener, more inclusive and sustainable economy. The required regulatory conditions are now provided for the businesses to initiate and scale up their operations in Mozambique’s off-grid energy market; the BRILHO Programme is ready and available to provide the financial and technical support for their implementation“. – Javier Ayala, Team Leader of the BRILHO Programme and Energy Sector Leader for SNV Mozambique.

8 December 2022: The launch of the ElectriFI Country Window for Mozambique, a tailored EUR 15 million package funded by the EU to invest in early-stage renewable energy companies active in the country, took place on Thursday 7 December in Maputo, within the business conference Renováveis em Moçambique 2022.

With only a bit more of 40% of households having access to electricity, Mozambique remains largely unelectrified. The ambitious targets set by the government include the connection of the entire population to electricity (off and on-grid) by 2030. The ElectriFI Country Window for Mozambique funded by the EU in close cooperation with the national government, offers a suitable instrument to meet those ambitions while contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Country Window package, consisting in a EUR 15 million envelope, funded under the European Development Fund and from the programme PROMOVE Energia managed by the EU Delegation with the Government of Mozambique aims to boost access to energy in rural areas.

The purpose of the dedicated funding for Mozambique is to allow the private sector to contribute to rural development through electrification. The Country Window should allow us to finance up to 10 projects dedicated to accelerating access to clean energy, in a sustainable and inclusive way. The regions of Nampula and Zambezia are prime examples of areas where the financing could be deployed.

“We are very glad that Mozambique joins today the ElectriFI family together with many other African countries. Out of the 113 million EUR of committed investments through country windows, we are proud to say that 75% are for investment projects in Sub-Saharan Africa! In adhering to this initiative, Mozambique, national private sector and international investors will take advantage from the network of 15 European Development Finance Institutions (EDFIs) from EU Member States, which have joined forces and are jointly managing this initiative. This great opportunity will help channel liquidity from DFIs and commercial funders to the private sector in Mozambique” said Antonino Maggiore, European Union Ambassador to the Republic of Mozambique.

The ElectriFI Country Window for Mozambique offers an innovative blending instrument to support the risk capital needs of early-stage companies who via the support of the ElectriFI facility can further build their track record, strengthen their operations and deliver on sustainable impact. The new Country Window also includes a EUR 500,000 dedicated budget for Technical Assistance to help support existing and potential ElectriFI clients in Mozambique.

“The ElectriFI country window in Mozambique is the result of strategic partnerships established in a Team Europe approach. By offering financing and assistance to renewable energy companies, we aim to contribute to Mozambique’s electrification, job creation and climate mitigation efforts. In turn, we aim to mobilise additional private investors to commit over EUR 25 million in those companies”, explained Corentin Billiet, ElectriFI Senior Investment Officer at EDFI MC.

By unlocking Mozambican’s economic, social and environmental development opportunities across various value chains, the Country Window will contribute to national implementation plans to reach the Sustainable Development Goals and the national programme “Energia para Todos” in particular.

 

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About EDFI ElectriFI: EDFI ElectriFI is an EU-funded impact investment facility, financing early-stage private companies and projects, focusing on new/improved electricity connections as well as on generation capacity from sustainable energy sources in emerging markets.

EDFI ElectriFI, is managed by the EDFI Management Company, a company established by the 15 European Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). For more information, visit: https://www.electrifi.eu/.

14 December 2022: Today, at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a Global Development Alliance, one of the largest in USAID history, the Health Electrification and Telecommunication Alliance (HETA). It is a five-year cooperative agreement that will invest USAID resources to leverage more than $150 million of additional private sector resources to install reliable, renewable power and provide mobile network and Internet access for at least 10,000 health facilities across sub-Saharan Africa. The announcement follows USAID Power Africa’s call for new business approaches based on the latest clean energy technology.

More than 100,000 public health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to reliable electricity and almost all of them lack access to an internet connection. Millions of people seeking care and treatment are at risk because they cannot depend on refrigeration for medical commodities like vaccines, the presence of lights for births or emergency surgeries at night, or the digital connectivity for communications and records management that modern medicine relies on. In short, insufficient power denies access to life-saving care.

U.S. company Abt is serving as lead integrator for HETA with partners RESOLVE, and founding private sector alliance partners bechtel.org (Bechtel’s social enterprise), Orange, and 25 other companies, organizations, and foundations in the healthcare, energy, and telecommunications sectors.

Through this Alliance, and with dedicated design and operational support from USAID’s global health program, African government partners, and alliance members – health facilities will be outfitted to provide renewable energy and digital connectivity to improve healthcare service delivery and support U.S. commitments made at the United Nations General Assembly and last year’s United Nations 26th Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26).

The systems will include solar, battery, and other innovative energy technology to provide reliable energy to the mobile networks and health facilities. The HETA model will generate surplus energy allowing nearby businesses and homes to purchase the excess electricity.

The sale of this extra power to the surrounding community will generate income to maintain the system and provide financial sustainability to establish the initiative as a formal program outside of USAID. Providing electricity access also creates hubs for local development, giving people access to the power and connectivity they need to start or grow businesses, stimulate incomes, and create new communities of connection. This will also help accelerate improvements in delivery of primary health care services, supporting advance of USAID global health program goals, aligned to primary health care focus countries announced this week.

HETA’s long-term vision looks beyond 10,000 facilities. Part of HETA’s mission is to design an alliance with a large number of partners that can continue beyond USAID funding support. USAID and its HETA alliance partners are already looking to build the funding base and governance structures to create this independent organization.

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