$2 Billion Investment Partnership For Distributed RE

• IFC and RF have joined hands to support distributed renewable energy development
• Their main target is Sub-Saharan nations where 70% of households are without electricity; later list of regions will be expanded
• RF will deploy $150 million to fund an active pipeline of IFC's prototype scaling mini-grid program along with distributed renewable energy generation, battery energy storage and other innovative clean energy technologies

With an eye to mobilize up to $2 billion of private sector investment for distributed renewable energy solutions, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has struck a partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation (RF). Sub-Saharan countries, and some selected regions where 70% of households are un-electrified are the main target nations for these solutions.

Both the partners have identified immediate opportunities for this partnership, and plan to broaden the list of countries during implementation.

While RF brings to the partnership its financial prowess with a contribution of up to $150 million to de-risk up to $2 billion private sector investment, the IFC brings its expertise in creating markets and pipeline development in developing nations. The IFC's presence will increase the scale the private sector investments into distributed renewable energy.

Both the organizations plan to initially distribute $30 million under a rapid deployment phase to fund an active pipeline of IFC's prototype scaling mini-grid program along with distributed renewable energy generation, battery energy storage and other innovative clean energy technologies to facilitate access.

RF President Dr. Rajiv J. Shah said the investment will support completely off-grid communities secure access to reliable power and it will ensure recovery from COVID-19 for the target markets is equitable and green, while citing an analysis from the World Energy Outlook 2020 that claims the pandemic has contributed to clean energy disruption, increasing the number of people without electricity in Africa to more than 590 million in 2020.

"The twin goals of improving energy access and addressing climate change both require our urgent attention but can't be achieved with public resources alone," said IFC's Managing Director Makhtar Diop. "The private sector can and must be part of the solution if the scale of our results is to meet the scale of our ambitions."

IFC provides help with its technical assistance, targeted feasibility studies and cost-sharing support to private sector clients and governments. The private sector investment arm of the World Bank claims to having funded around 8 GW of hydropower, 6 GW of solar energy and 5 GW of wind energy.