April 11 (Renewables Now) – The African Development Fund, the concessional arm of the African Development Bank Group, has approved a $5.5 million (€5.1 million) technical assistance grant to launch the Desert to Power project in the eastern part of the Sahel region, namely in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan, the bank announced.

The initiative will develop technical studies for regional solar parks and battery storage near regional energy interconnections, as well as improving the technical capacity of the implementing agency, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development ( IGAD), a trading bloc bringing together the governments of the Horn of Africa. , the Nile Valley and the Great Lakes region.

The Desert to Power program, led by the African Development Bank, aims to deploy 10 GW of solar power and provide electricity to around 250 million people in 11 countries in the Sahel region — Burkina Faso, Chad , Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan — by 2030.

The recently announced grant for the East Africa Regional Power Project follows the approval in July last year of a $6 million grant for the East Africa Regional Power Project. ‘West.

“This Desert to Power project comes at a good time in this post-Covid-19 era, which has clearly highlighted the importance of reliable energy services. This also comes at a time when IGAD is planning to implement its regional infrastructure master plan in the energy sector,” IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu said.

“This is an important step to close the renewable energy investment gaps in the region, and will reduce the adverse effects of climate change and diversify the energy mix leading to energy security,” Gebeyehu added. .

(1 USD = 0.921 EUR)

Sign up for the free daily Renewables Now newsletter now!