OPIC's Africa Clean Energy Financing Facility Supported 27 Early Stage Projects Since 2012
December 11, 2017
(OPIC)
The U.S. Africa Clean Energy Finance Initiative (ACEF), a five-year
collaboration between OPIC, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency and the U.S.
Department of State, has supported 27 early-stage renewable energy projects
totaling 470 MW in 11 African countries to expand access to electricity, since
it was launched in 2012. Of these, 17 have reached or are nearing commercial
operation, underscoring the program’s success in helping early stage power
projects launch.
The innovative ACEF program is winding down this year after having provided
critical early stage support to a range of projects, from Rwanda’s first
utility-scale solar power plant to a provider of solar lighting in Nigeria. By
helping so many early-stage projects get off the ground, the program also helped
many promising businesses mature to the point they were eligible for project
finance from OPIC and other sources. OPIC has committed a total of $369 million
in financing and insurance to graduates of the ACEF program and these projects
have raised an additional $443 million in capital from other sources, ultimately
resulting in $30 mobilized for every $1 from ACEF. For example, SunFunder, a
solar financing company for Sub-Saharan Africa, assembled a $50 million Beyond
the Grid fund that has already delivered energy to 2.5 million people.
“Through the ACEF program, OPIC has been able to support several highly
innovative projects that addressed some of the toughest challenges of expanding
access to electricity in Africa, such as reaching remote populations,” said
Lynn Tabernacki, OPIC Deputy Vice President, SME Finance and Head of Global
Energy. “In the process of learning the challenges faced by early stage
companies, particularly in the off-grid sector, we began to understand the long
term need for these projects to succeed and we were able to craft financial
structures that fit their needs.”
The ACEF program was launched to help early-stage businesses address some of the
challenges such as feasibility studies and environmental impact assessments that
can be costly and time consuming by providing promising projects early stage
support.
By addressing the specific needs of early-stages businesses, the program served
as a key pillar in the U.S. Power Africa Initiative aimed at bringing
electricity to many of the estimated 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa
who live without regular access.
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