Three African renewable energy projects have been named winners of the US$7million Access Co-Development Facility run by emerging markets power project operator Access Power.
Disrupt Africa reported earlier this year Access Power had kicked off applications for the second Access Co-Development Facility, a financial support mechanism for renewable energy projects in Africa.
Three projects from Nigeria, Madagascar, and Sierra Leone fought off competition from almost 100 entries to win a share of the US$7million prize money, as well as technical support designed to bring their renewable energy projects to life.
The winners are AGES PLC, which is a 25MW solar project in Sierra Leone, Mentach Energy, a 50MW wind project in Nigeria, and Stucky Ltd, a 25MW hydro and solar project in Madagascar. Collectively, the projects will deliver 100MW of electricity to 340,000 homes.
The winners were announced in London at the annual Africa Energy Forum, following a presentation by five shortlisted developers to a panel of expert judges. These judges selected the three winners based on commercial, technical and environmental merits, as well as the local regulatory environment and capability of the project team.
“I am delighted to congratulate today’s well-deserved winners and we look forward to working with each of them to provide the technical skills, expertise and financing to get their projects across the finish line,” said Reda El Chaar, executive chairman of Access Power.
“There is still a massive, urgent need for electrification in Africa and we firmly believe that renewable energy will be a significant part of the solution. This year’s ACF competition introduced us to almost 100 projects, demonstrating the scale of entrepreneurialism and ambition across the African continent to meet the electrification challenge.”
