During its regional meeting in Conakry, The Republic of Guinea on January 28 to 30, the African Development Bank (AfDB) – who organized the meeting – introduced several key financing tools and mechanisms specific to renewable energy projects.
The the institution pressed the actors involved across the continent to strive towards renewable energy development as a key priority for a better access to sustainable power for all.
Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) aims to bridge the gap of access to electricity across the continent by focusing on renewable energy development. Supported by the African Union and approved by all concerned governments, the initiative has received $11,5 billion financing to cover the 2015-2020 period, added to a $1,7 billion subsidy. AREI’s aim is to add 10,000 MW of renewable power by 2020 and a minimum of 300,000 MW by 2030.
Representatives of 15 West African nations were present at the meetings alongside AREI’s institutional partners (International Renewable Agency (IRENA), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Environment Development Action in the Third World (ENDA) and West Africa’s regional entities.
AREI held four regional meetings across Africa in 2018; Guinea-Conakry was host to a fifth, last regional meeting following which conclusions are expected from AREI.
