The UK-funded Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) has successfully connected more than one million people with clean electricity in sub-Saharan Africa for the first time. Managed by Camco Clean Energy, the REPP invests mainly in small to medium-sized green mini-grid projects across Africa and mobilizes private sector development activities.
According to the latest figures, REPP has provided access to clean energy to nearly 1,083,000 people through its diverse portfolio of solar mini-grids, solar home systems (SHS), and other isolated mini-grid projects, mainly in rural areas.
REPP finances green electrification projects via solar mini-grids in Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Rwanda. In Tanzania, the financing platform has supported the installation of an isolated electricity network that is powered by wind energy. REPP has also financed the 10 MW Mpanda hydroelectric project in north-western Burundi and a geothermal energy project in Zambia.
Earlier this year, REPP partnered with the EU-funded Electrification Finance Initiative (EDFI ElectriFI) and OnePower (1PWR) to set up the Sotho Minigrid Portfolio SPV. With the funding of €4.4 million in this special purpose vehicle, REPP will help to provide 11 rural communities in Lesotho with solar mini-grids and battery storage systems.
Ben Hugues, Investment Director and REPP Manager at Camco Clean Energy, said, “Passing one million connections is a huge achievement for REPP and reflects all the hard work and determination of the Camco team, REPP’s board and investment committee, and, of course, the developers themselves.”
Hugues also mentioned that besides this huge achievement they must not overlook the fact that more than 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa still do not have access to electricity. REPP has a significant contribution to developing a thriving and dependable market for the small-scale and decentralized renewable energy sector in the region. Now they have to scale up the initiative by 600 times.
REPP is providing access to a clean, reliable, and more affordable energy supply which is supporting far-reaching health and socio-economic benefits to rural households and businesses in sub-Saharan Africa. The platform is promoting each country’s national climate action targets set out in their respective Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
