Shell Foundation and Rockefeller support $11bn African mini-grids fund
Crossboundary Energy Access – which claims to be the continent’s first mini-grid financing facility – wants to unlock $11 billion in private capital to bring energy to 100 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. Raising capital has been a struggle despite mini-grids being lauded as a solid solution for electrification.
64 MW project connected at Benban
Alcazar Energy has announced the start of commercial operation for a project at Benban, in Egypt. Alcazar says it is the first of more than 30 planned projects in the second round of the mammoth solar park to achieve grid connection, and one of four similar sized projects the company is working on at the site.
African Development Bank’s $25 million for sub-Saharan renewables
The investment will be made into a larger equity fund which seeks to develop 533 MW in the market, which currently has the lowest rate of access to electricity in the world. Even small capacity additions can bring economic impacts to many people.
