Israeli firm set for USD 1bn renewables development in Africa with US help - report

Gigawatt Global Cooperatief UA of Israel has signed a deal to develop USD 1 billion (EUR 851m) of renewable energy projects in West Africa with support from the US, Bloomberg reports today.

The deal is with the 15-member Economic Community of West African States and will help create the West Africa Power Pool. It is backed by Barack Obama's Power Africa initiative and suggests that the US Agency for International Development is still able to act in spite of Donald Trump's stance on poverty alleviation, Bloomberg says.

Under the memorandum of understanding, Gigawatt Global will deploy solar and wind parks totalling 800 MW in West Africa, according to Guy Feldman, Israel's ambassador to Nigeria, the article says. It will start with Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mali, Nigeria and the Gambia. Project development is scheduled to begin in early 2019.

Power Africa will be a lead funding source and expects to introduce other development banks and investors. The funding mix is expected to be 80/20 debt to equity.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.851)

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