The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$20mn investment in the Metier Sustainable Capital International Fund II, which channels funds to renewable energy and resource-efficient infrastructure projects across sub-Saharan Africa

The Bank’s funding will contribute to production of an additional 178.5MW of renewable power for commercial and residential use. It will also create opportunities for industrial wastewater treatment and waste-to-energy generation. The Fund will meet the Bank’s strict environment and safeguards standards to ensure potential risks are adequately mitigated.

Wale Shonibare, AfDB’s acting vice-president for power, energy, climate change and green growth, said, “Metier has extensive experience in developing and financing renewable energy projects with strong technical partners and co-developers in Southern Africa. We are pleased to join other investors in supporting their expansion into new African markets to help unlock the vast renewable potential of the continent.”

He said the investment was part of the Bank’s efforts to alleviate financing constraints in the renewable energy sector.

Metier is a well-established fund manager with a track record of deploying more than US$550mn in African countries, including solar, wind and hydropower projects in Southern and East Africa.

The company has been an important player in South African solar power, a maturing technology that offers significant benefits in terms of storage and dispatchability to the grid, unlike traditional photovoltaic options.