AfDB to back green energy projects in six countries with USD 164m

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) will provide up to USD 164 million (EUR 144.64m) to support investments in decentralised renewable energy in six countries across the continent.

The scheme, known as the Leveraging Energy Access Finance Framework (LEAF), was approved by the bank's board of directors last week. It is part of a USD-800-million programme aimed at supporting decentralised renewable energy companies in Ghana, Guinea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Tunisia.

Under LEAF, the bank will finance 18 projects in the area of solar home systems, green mini-grids and solar solutions for commercial and industrial use that will provide electricity to six million people and businesses and reduce carbon emissions by 28.8 million tonnes during the operation of the systems.

The scheme was developed in partnership with the Green Climate Fund, which committed USD 170.9 million in concessional financing for it last summer, and is part of the bank’s broader off-grid strategy under the New Deal on Energy for Africa.

“The approval of this programme is very timely as it increases the bank’s toolbox to support the fast-moving decentralised energy access market which complements conventional grid-connected solutions,” said AfDB's acting director in charge of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Daniel Schroth.

LEAF comes on top of a financing facility of up to USD 379.6 million that the bank approved last week. The financing will be used to support the installation of 500 MW of solar power in G5 Sahel countries -- Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, over the next seven years.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.882)

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