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Millions set to benefit as UK Government announces additional £100m for REPP
London, 11 December 2018 – Sub-Saharan Africa’s small to medium-scale renewable energy sector has been given a major boost after the UK Government committed £100m extra funding for REPP.
The additional investment should enable REPP to support the financing of up to 40 more projects across the region from 2019-2023 – providing improved or first-time electricity access to around 2.4m people per year.
REPP was set up in 2015 with £48m initial funding from the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to help small to medium-scale renewable energy projects attract and access private and institutional investment – mobilising private finance in sub-Saharan Africa. It is managed by Camco Clean Energy, a leader in renewable energy finance, which provides developers with access to various financing products, services and experience.
To date, the programme has agreed contracts with 18 renewable energy projects across 11 countries, employing seven different technologies, from solar home systems and PV mini-grids to biomass and run-of-river hydro.
Over the projects’ 25-year lifespans, they are together expected to provide improved or first-time energy access to 4.5m people, increase capacity from clean energy by 194MWwhile creating 8,000 jobs during development and operation. REPP has a really healthy pipeline of suitable projects, with a number more in the advanced stages of the selection process.
The additional investment, which was announced today at COP24 in Poland, will enable REPP to build on these early successes. The extension could also unlock an extra £156 million of private finance into renewable energy markets in Africa by 2023.
Geoff Sinclair, Managing Director of Camco Clean Energy, said: “In just a few years, REPP has made significant inroads using climate finance to help realise the enormous potential small to medium-sized renewable energy projects in catalysing sub-Saharan Africa’s clean energy revolution, enabling change where it’s most needed.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates BEIS’s commitment to the programme, and will enable REPP to extend its important work to millions of other people who currently have little or no access to electricity in the region, while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
Claire Perry MP, Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth, said: “At home we’re world leaders in cutting emissions while growing our economy and abroad we’re showing our international leadership by giving countries a helping hand to shift to greener, cleaner economies.
“This £100 million will help communities harness the power of their natural resources to provide hundreds of thousands of people with energy for the first time. Building these clean, reliable sources of energy will also create thousands of quality jobs in these growing green economies.”
BEIS’s investment in REPP forms part of the UK’s £5.8bn commitment to international
climate finance by 2021, as part of the global effort to tackle climate change.
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Notes to editors
Media contact
For all media enquiries and interview requests, please contact info@camco.energy or call +44 7768 275731,
About REPP
The Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) works to mobilise private sector development activity – and investment – in small to medium-sized projects (typically up to 25MW), and is supported with £48m ($67m) initial funding from the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the International Climate Finance initiative.
Le concept initial du programme a été développé par le Programme des Nations Unies pour l'Environnement et La Banque Européenne d'Investissement en réponse à l’initiative d’energie durable pour tous des Nations Unies.
About Camco Clean Energy
Camco Clean Energy is a global leader in sustainable energy projects finance. Its long-established position within Africa’s renewable energy sector enables the company to provide project developers and sponsors with a trusted combination of global access and local presence, enabling them to source the right financing solutions to develop and build projects.
Depuis sa formation, Camco a fourni des solutions de financement à 180 projets ayant une valeur de 15 milliards de dollars, au sein de géographies aussi diverses que le Madagascar à la Malaysie, et des États-Unis à l’Ouganda.
About BEIS’ International Climate Finance
BEIS’ International Climate Finance is a UK Government commitment to support developing countries to respond to the challenges and opportunities of climate change. As part of this commitment, BEIS is providing at least £5.8bn of ICF between 2016-2020, aiming for an even split between mitigation and adaptation. This places us amongst the world’s leading providers of climate finance. Our focus is on:
- Building the resilience of the poorest people and communities
- Ensuring that the vast expansion in infrastructure in developing countries is low-carbon
- Halting deforestation
