Africa-focused Renewable Energy Initiative Reaches Full Commitment of Initial $20 million Investment
January 12, 2015
(OPIC)
WASHINGTON – The U.S.-Africa Clean Energy Finance (ACEF) initiative has reached
a key milestone in deploying millions of dollars for renewable energy in Africa.
In December, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), which links U.S.
businesses to global infrastructure opportunities, and the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance
institution, reached commitment of 100% of the initial project funds
administered under ACEF. ACEF is an ambitious and innovative program to support
early-stage projects to catalyze private-sector investment in the renewable
energy sector in sub-Saharan Africa.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched ACEF at the UN Conference on
Sustainable Development in 2012 with an initial investment of $20 million. At
the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in August 2014, Secretary of State John Kerry
announced the U.S. State Department’s intention to invest an additional $10
million.
The ACEF program is designed to help promising clean energy projects develop
into viable candidates for financing by providing small amounts of early-stage
funding for essential inputs, such as technical and feasibility studies. ACEF
serves a catalytic role to advance these projects and help attract private
sector follow-on investment, which can help to fuel low-carbon economic growth
in the region.
Since the program’s launch, OPIC and USTDA have committed funds to 30 renewable
energy projects across 10 African countries. The initial $20 million of funding
has the potential to lead to more than 400 megawatts of new renewable power in
Africa and could mobilize more than $1.5 billion in project capital, a ratio of
$75 for every $1 from the ACEF program.
ACEF-supported projects span a wide breadth of activities designed to address
Africa’s energy challenges, including large- and small-scale projects, both
connected to central power grids and serving rural, off-grid communities.
Impactful renewable energy projects that are now progressing because of ACEF
funds include a 150 megawatt Senegalese wind farm and a 12 megawatt
run-of-the-river hydroelectric power facility in Rwanda.
“USTDA is proud of our efforts to link U.S. industry expertise and financing to
help develop clean energy across sub-Saharan Africa,” said USTDA Director
Leocadia I. Zak. “We look forward to continuing to work with our partners from
OPIC and State under the next phase of ACEF.”
“Empowering private investors to lead the way in overseas development is at the
heart of OPIC’s mission, as well as that of President Obama’s Power Africa
initiative, in which we also effectively partner with USTDA,” said Elizabeth
Littlefield, OPIC’s President and CEO. “ACEF is a forerunner in realizing the
potential of these private investors, and has helped innovative developers of
clean, renewable energy in Africa advance their ideas to receive the financing
they need.”
“ACEF is an excellent example of how we can use limited public resources to
leverage the private financing necessary to fuel low-carbon growth in developing
countries – a key step in meeting the challenge to address climate change,” said
Todd Stern, U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change at the U.S. State Department.
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