IRENA and Africa50 announce $100 million RE financing partnership; MIGA backs solar projects in DRC and Rwanda; ENGIE Energy Access building mini-grids in Zambia; CWP Global & SNIM sign MoU for green hydrogen in Mauritania; Inspired Evolution to invest in renewable energy projects with 2^nd financial close for fund.

$100 million for RE in Africa: The pan-African infrastructure investor and asset management group Africa50 has pledged up to $100 million for renewable energy in Africa. It will fund and co-finance renewables-based energy transition projects and infrastructure across the continent through the Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) platform of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera and Africa50 CEO Alain Ebobissé signed the agreement to this effect. Both the organizations signed an agreement to this effect. Backed by the UAE, the ETAF was established to scale up renewable energy projects that contribute to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) in developing countries. With Africa50, now the ETAF has 14 partners with a combined $4.15 billion financing, says IRENA.

MIGA support for solar in Africa: The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency of the World Bank Group (MIGA) has announced support for solar PV projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. In the DRC, it will support the ‘biggest’ mini-grid project on the continent with multiple city-scale mini-grids or metro-grids. It has approved a guarantee of $50.3 million for Congo Energy Solutions Limited (CESL) to help it in its aim to provide energy to up to 5 million people by 2025. CESL is invested in Nuru SASU that will add up to 15 MW of metro-grid capacity. The latter also has a future pipeline of another 39 MW of mini- and metro-grids. This will provide access to affordable and reliable electricity to over 28,000 households and businesses in eastern DRC, according to MIGA that believes private sector-led mini-grids are central to the government’s strategy to accelerate access to electricity.

In Rwanda, MIGA has issued guarantees of $9 million to Oikocredit, Ecumenical Development Cooperative Society U.A., Triodos Groenfonds and Triodos Emerging Markets Renewable Energy Fund for their investments in ARC Power Rwanda Ltd. of Rwanda. A subsidiary of Arc Power Ltd. UK, ARC Power is building the country’s ‘1^st’ interconnected grid network with solar generation units installed within village networks. Each of these units will directly serve 25 to 30 users, including schools, health centers, local government offices, small and medium enterprises, commercial centers, and business parks, and households within the villages. According to MIGA, the project will connect close to 30,000 new customers in 150 villages to the national grid for the 1^st time, benefiting around 118,000 people.

Mini-grids in Zambia: ENGIE Group’s ENGIE Energy Access is constructing 15 solar mini-grids in Zambia’s Eastern Province. A pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) and mini-grid solutions provider, ENGIE Energy ACCESS says this project will provide reliable electricity to underserved families and small businesses. It is constructing the project through its local unit MySol Grid Zambia. Initial sites include Lusinde, Kandongwa, Nyimba Mwana, Chidiwa, Chataika, Kanyanga, Petulo, Kasamba, Chidiwa, Mphole, Mung’omba, Kalambana, Mtore, Kondwelani, Lunga, and Luamphande that are scheduled to be operational by the end of 2024. According to the company, this initiative is a crucial part of the Increase Access to Electricity and Renewable Energy Production (IAEREP) programme, funded by the 11th European Development Fund and the European Union.

Green hydrogen in Mauritania: Global renewable energy developer CWP Global recently announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (SNIM) for a new green iron production and export hub in Mauritania. Green hydrogen produced from around 18 GW of wind and 12 GW of solar energy from the AMAN project of CWP, the green Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) project is aimed to replace raw iron processing from blast furnaces as it is the process popular today. This final green product will then be used predominantly for export to the European steel industry.

2^nd close for Evolution III Fund: Pan-African climate-centered private equity firm Inspired Evolution has achieved 2^nd close of its Evolution III Fund. It includes commitments from 10 new investors including Mauritius Investment Corporation (MIC) who committed up to $20 million and 9 investors through Align Impact. The fund achieved its 1^st close of $199.4 million in March 2023 from 7 investors including the European Investment Bank (EIB), Dutch Development Bank FMO, the African Development Bank, Finnfund, Swedfund, Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM), and Emerging Markets Climate Action Fund (EMCAF). The fund will invest in clean and renewable energy and energy transition.