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AfrElec RENEWABLES AfrElec
renewAfrica calls for European support of its single investment model
AFRICA
THE Italian-led renewAfrica Initiative has called on the European Union to adopt its proposed single investment instrument model in a bid to boost private backing for renewables energy in Africa and to help the EU implement its climate change policies.
Speaking in Brussels to mark seven months of the renewAfrica Initiative, Antonio Cammisecra noted that the EU needed to undertake concrete steps and measures to meet its European Green Deal commitment.
“The renewAfrica Initiative’s mission to boost European renewable energy investments in Africa perfectly matches the ambitions of A European Green Deal and of A Stronger Europe in the World, set out by the EU Commission,” said Cammisecra.
“To deliver on its stated effort to build Green Alliances abroad and use development co-op- eration to advance climate action, the EU will need to undertake concrete steps and measures: renewAfrica can be one of these,” he added.
In 2030, over 600mn Africans (36% of the whole population) will still not have access to electricity, according to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates.
Bridging this energy access gap will require the unlocking of private sector investments, as public financing will not suffice to provide the $32bn per year of investment needed, renewA- frica claims.
renewAfrica is led by a number of leading European companies with interests in Africa, such as Enel Green Power, Engie, Total Eren, EDP Renewables, ABB, GE, Pöyry, Siemens Gamesa and Vestas Total and Eni.
In June 2019, it published a white paper criticising the large number of differing and
potentially competing European schemes that aimed to harness private investment in Africa renewables.
Instead, it proposed a new investment instru- ment that would include a combination of policies, regulations, financing and de-risking measures. This would offer enhanced support to investors and help scale-up investments.
This new instrument concentrates on mit- igating political risk and improving legal and regulatory frameworks.
RES4Africa said in June that it had identified these two gaps in existing support mechanisms that target Africa, such as South Africa’s REIP- PPP, the IFC’s Scaling Solar and the US govern- ment’s Power Africa.
renewAfrica wants this comprehensive approach to stimulate a pipeline of bankable pro- jects on a scale that single European instruments have not been able to do so far.
At present, some countries such as South Africa offer strong tendering regimes and have attracted IPPs from across the world; others are taking their first steps. Cancelled tenders, dubious regulations and poor communication between governments and investors continue to increase investor risk.
In July 2019, renewAfrica said that it aimed to raise renewables energy’s share of total energy supply in Africa to 25% by 2030. This would involve 118 GW of new renewable capacity, cost- ing an estimated $170bn.
“Africa’s future prosperity is unthinkable without clean energy access. To overcome the current gap, Africa requires a paradigm shift: from energy as a commodity, to energy as an enabler of services,” RES4Africa president Anto- nio Cammisecra said in July.
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