3 African renewable energy projects to share $7m ACF prize

Access to electricity in Africa is a big deal, as most countries across the continent continue to grapple with not just limited but woefully unreliable power supply for homes and industries.

To help ease the electricity burden, the continent can expect 100 megawatts of electricity coming from the collective efforts of three renewable energy projects by Nigerian, Madagascan and Sierra Leonean energy experts.

The three project teams are joint beneficiaries of the $7 million prize awarded by Access Co-Development Facility (ACF), a financial support mechanism for renewable energy projects in Africa.

AGES PLC (25MW solar project in Sierra Leone), Mentach Energy (50 MW wind project in Nigeria), and Stucky Ltd (25MW Hydro & Solar project in Madagascar) were the three winning teams.

Winners! AGES, Mentach and Stucky projects will together deliver 100MW to 340K homes in Nigeria, Madagascar, and Sierra Leone #AEF16

— Access Power (@AccessPowerMEA) June 22, 2016

ACF announced winners of their 2016 event at the Africa Energy Forum that took place in London. According to ACF, the three projects fought off fierce competition from almost 100 entries to win a share of the US$7million prize.

The group added that, the winners were chosen based on commercial, technical and environmental merits, as well as the local regulatory environment, and capability of the project team. The prize also includes a package of technical support designed to bring their renewable energy projects to life.

“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,” Reda El Chaar, Executive Chairman of Access Power said.

Access Power (“Access”) is a developer, owner and operator of renewable power projects in emerging markets, with an eye on sub-Saharan Africa which they see as a key growth area for their operations.