USAID unveils $73m investment to boost energy access, reduce emissions

• Africa50 pledges $100m for renewable energy in Africa

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced the launch of a $73 million initiative, the Empower West Africa (EWA) activity under the Power Africa initiative, aimed at enhancing energy access and reducing emissions across sub-Saharan Africa.
 
According to a statement by the agency, the programme will increase the availability of affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern electricity services in West Africa.
 

The initiative is set to build on the achievements of the West Africa Energy Programme (WAEP), which commenced in July 2019 and will be concluded in July 2024, the U.S. government-led partnership, Power Africa, harnesses the collective resources of public and private sectors to double access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa.
   
“By 2029, EWA aims to achieve several key goals: establishing six million new grid and off-grid direct connections; reaching financial close for 2,500 megawatts of new energy generation capacity; constructing 1,500 kilometres of new transmission lines; selling 40,000 productive-use off-grid devices or systems and reducing, sequestering, or avoiding 14.4 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions through clean energy initiatives,” it stated.
 
The agency stressed that EWA will engage with stakeholders within the sector, including government ministries, utilities, regulatory bodies, private sector energy enterprises, investors, multilateral organisations, academic institutions, and civil society organisations to eradicate energy poverty, accelerate a carbon-neutral future and stimulate private sector investment and innovation.

MEANWHILE, the pan-African infrastructure investor and asset management group, Africa50, has pledged to invest $100 million to fund and co-finance renewable-based energy transition projects and infrastructure across Africa.
 
The investment is due to an agreement between Africa50 and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), as it would be channelled through IRENA’s Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) platform.

According to a statement by IRENA, the agreement was signed on the margins of the OPEC Fund Development Forum in Vienna by IRENA Director-General, Francesco La Camera and Africa50 Chief Executive Officer, Alain Ebobissé.