NEPAD, being the implementing arm of the African Union (AU), is embarking on an exercise that hastens the expansion and execution of Africa’s Renewable Energy Projects.
This is NEPAD Agency’s input in the execution of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative that was approved by the AU Summit in June 2016 and also to the SE4ALL Initiative.
The exercise entails the provision of a platform where project proprietors at national level directly present their chosen projects to developers and investors and strike business deals for either the development of projects to bankability, or fiscally close a project if it has attained bankability.
The first group of projects will be from the states that have finished or are in the course of finishing the Action Agenda and Investment Prospectus of the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SE4ALL).
The NEPAD Agency is collaborating with The Africa Energy Indaba conference to host focused discussions where state project proprietors will present their preferred projects to likely investors, developers and other interested stakeholders, who would consider funding these projects for advance development or execution.
NEPAD Senior Energy Advisor, Professor Mosad Elmissiry, stated, “This will be the first time that state governments will be showcasing their High Priority Renewable Energy Projects to the open market and seeking to draw private sector contribution and investment.
Our role is to ease and assist this matchmaking to guarantee these projects are developed. We believe this is what the private sector has been searching for – chances to view new renewable energy project opportunities by the project owners.”
The Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative
The Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative is a multi-stakeholder joint venture between governments, the private sector, and civil society. Founded by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General in 2011, it has three interlinked goals to be achieved by 2030:
1. Guaranteeing global access to modern energy services;
2. Doubling the global pace of advancing in energy efficiency
3. Doubling the share of renewable energy in the universal energy mix.
At the center of the SE4All initiative is the notion that access to sustainable energy is not an end in itself, but that amplified access to sustainable and modern energy services is paramount to attaining improvements in most sectors, including health, education, economic development, poverty reduction, gender empowerment, environment protection and climate change.
The SE4ALL Initiative has been hailed by several African nations on the perception that it advances “Africa’s Priority Energy Projects” and is executed alongside other current national, regional and continental energy initiatives in Africa like the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA).
This is in particular related with regards to resource mobilization and action-oriented delivery mechanisms. At the moment 44 nations have joined the Initiative.
