Mauritania and the European Union have launched a new program named “Affordable Access to Clean, Renewable Electricity” aimed at bolstering Mauritania’s energy transition.
This effort is part of the Team Europe Initiative: Transition to a Green and Blue Economy, which aims to strengthen EU-Mauritania co-operation and help the nation develop affordable access to clean electricity.
Abdessalam Ould Mohamed Saleh, Mauritanian Minister of Petroleum, Mines, and Energy, and Koen Doens, Director General for International Partnerships, officially inked the partnership during a signing ceremony on Monday.
The program, financed with €13.25 million from the EU budget and additional contributions from France, will help 20 communities in the Hodh El Gharbi and Hodh Ech Chargui districts of the country’s southeast gain access affordable and sustainable power sources.
Mauritania’s renewable resources have piqued the interest of several Western European countries, including Germany and Spain, and both the EU and the Mauritanian government are currently discussing how to finance large-scale green hydrogen projects and ultimately export clean energy.
Access to energy remains a strategic goal for Mauritania, despite challenges with integrating renewable energy into the national grid, a topic that the ministerial panel plans to discuss during the forthcoming MSGBC Oil, Gas, & Power conference and expo, which will be held on November 21-22 in Nouakchott under the auspices of the Mauritanian Head of State Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.
