Date: Fri, 6 Jun 2014 14:16:10 +0200
EU Announces Funding For Electrification In Rural Africa
By Energy Matters
FRIDAY 06 JUNE, 2014
Funding for solar in Africa
The European Commission has announced 16 energy projects that will receive
more than AUD $139 million in funding to help bring clean power to rural
Africa.
The rural electrification projects include hydro, wind, solar and biomass
projects across nine countries (Madagascar, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Cameroon,
Uganda, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Eritrea, and Rwanda) and will benefit 2
million people.
"These innovative projects are a real step forward in terms of bringing
energy to some of the most remote and poor areas in Africa," said European
Commission Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs.
"The benefits of rural electrification are manifold - by connecting people
to clean energy, we'll improve healthcare, education, and opportunities to
make a living in the area."
One of the solar projects under the program will occur in North and
Centre-North Burkina Faso; where 7 solar farms totalling 2.5 MW capacity
will be constructed and and 4,000 small PV kits distributed.
In Tanzania, a rent-to-own home solar systems initiative will take place,
with a goal of equivalent to 4.9MW installed capacity in households and 3MW
in
schools.
South East Senegal will benefit from the construction of an 800kW solar
farm, plus small systems and low voltage minigrids with a total capacity of
just over 1MW.
In Uganda, small household kits consisting of a 30 watt solar panel, light,
phone charger and batteries will be distributed; along with the construction
of larger systems with battery storage for businesses and social
institutions.
The EU aims to allocate more than 3 billion euros worth of grants in the
2014-2020 financial period to support sustainable energy projects in 30
countries.
Globally, approximately 1.3 billion people have no access to electricity
whatsoever and up to a billion more live with unreliable electricity
supply.
A related report from the EC states people in developing countries spend
about AUD $41 billion annually for poor quality energy supply that generates
high levels of pollution.
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