Page 11 - AfrElec Week 45

AfrElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
AfrElec
International Monetary Fund-backed programme that’s restored economic growth after uncertainty following the 2011 uprising.
The new deal involving the plants could help the country tackle the twin challenges of easing its debt burden and encouraging foreign investment that’s still mostly lacking beyond the oil and gas industries.
Egypt’s first-ever sovereign fund, which was established last year, is modelled on initiatives in Malaysia and India. The fund aims to partner with the private sector and generate additional wealth from under- utilized state assets that it plans to manage.
The fund will start with paid-in capital
of 5 billion Egyptian pounds ($309 million), 1 billion of which the government has transferred, and it’s authorized to manage up to 200 billion pounds.
Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker said in May that Blackstone Group unit Zarou
Ltd. and Edra Power Holdings Sdn Bhd of Malaysia had voiced interest in the plants, which have a total capacity of 14.4GW and are operated by Siemens until 2024.
Financing mostly came from a consortium of lenders led by Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings Plc and KfW-IPEX Bank AG, backed by a sovereign guarantee.
RENEWABLES
IRENA pushes forward green investment in Africa
IRENA aims to develop its deal-making capacity in Africa by forging a new partnership with US agency Power Africa and the African Trade Insurance Agency.
IRENA aims to make it easier to scale up investment in renewable energy projects by providing state-of-the-art analysis of enabling policy frameworks and finance mechanisms. This would help facilitate public and private investment to back green energy project.
Speaking at the Africa Investment Forum
in South Africa on November 13,, IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera underlined the importance of renewable energy to meet sustainable economic growth and Africa’s climate and development ambitions.
“Now more than ever, renewables have become a compelling investment proposition”, said La Camera. “With renewable energy technology prices set to decline, the cost- competitiveness of renewables will strengthen further. IRENA’s analysis shows that nearly a quarter of Africa’s energy needs could be met from indigenous and clean renewable energy sources by 2030. This would result in a wide array of socio-economic benefits in terms of economic growth, welfare, employment and energy access. It’s Possible”.
IRENA has been committed to supporting African governments in their quest for a sustainable energy future. The Agency has supported countries in building attractive investment frameworks for renewables to strengthen institutional and technical capacity. It has also supported the development and financing of renewable energy projects through project facilitation tools.
“A lot remains to be done to address the key risks and barriers that hinder the scale-up of renewable investment in the region”, La Camera continued. “There is no shortage of renewable energy project proposals which are competing for investor capital. But they are not always financially viable. Many proposals fail to materialize due to high cost of capital, limited access to risk mitigation solutions and long delays in projects”.
By building on its extensive project pipeline in Sub-Saharan Africa with over
90 renewable energy projects, the Agency showcased 10 renewable energy projects at the Investment Forum.
Projects from Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo which have a total capacity ranging from 6 MW to 70 MW – covering technologies like wind, solar, bioenergy and hydropower - were presented.
RES4Africa, GWEC sign MoU
to push forward Africa’s
sustainable development
The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and RES4Africa Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to increase co-operation through joint initiatives and activities to support sustainable development for resilient economies and energy systems in Africa.
GWEC and RES4Africa have worked together on GWEC’s new Africa Wind Energy Handbook, which was published during the recent Windaba 2019 event in Cape Town. The Handbook presents policy makers with
a step by step guide to building dynamic and sustainable wind energy industries’ in their countries.
“Africa’s energy system needs more renewable energy to support a growing population, increasing urbanisation rates
and sky-rocketing power demand and to enable economic growth and investment in key social activities such as education. We are thrilled to strengthen our cooperation with RES4Africa through the agreement signed today, and are convinced that through the joint efforts of both organisations, we will be able to get closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 7, providing clean and affordable energy for all in Africa,” said Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC
GWEC and RES4Africa share a common vision that sustainable energy development is a crucial catalyst to empower and transform African economies through local job creation and stimulating investment.
As the voice of the global wind industry, GWEC acts as a bridge between the wind industry, policymakers and other stakeholders in emerging markets in order to build new thriving wind markets and reach the world’s decarbonisation goals.
Sustainability is at the core of RES4Africa Foundation’s mission, as it supports the deployment of renewable energy solutions in
Week 45 14•November•2019
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m
P11