Alliance Allocates $50 Million for Renewable Energy Access in Africa through UEF

The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (the Alliance) has pledged $50 million to its ongoing partnership with the Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) to bridge energy access gaps and support energy transition programs in Africa. The Alliance is allocating the fund to support SEforALL’s initiative Universal Energy Facility (UEF).

The UEF is a dedicated financial mechanism of SEforALL for financing renewable energy projects in developing countries, primarily in Africa. The mechanism provides incentive payments to eligible power producers that deploy renewable energy solutions with verified end-user energy connections. 

UEF’s first round of funding aims to provide access to renewable energy for 2.3 million people by the year 2023. The initiative will focus on solar mini-grids, which have a significant impact on rural electrification in sub-Saharan Africa.

Alliance aims to advance global efforts to mitigate energy poverty, and climate change, and support economic development through renewable energy. Its new funding will support the launch of the UEF in other African countries, scale-up mini-grid development, and expand to include solar for productive use.

Damilola Ogunbiyi, SEforALL’s Executive Director and UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All, said, “We are delighted to have this major support from the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet for our work to provide clean, affordable, and sufficient energy for all. This funding helps build on our existing work of delivering new clean energy connections at scale and ensuring no one is left behind in the global energy transition.”

Simon Harford, CEO of the Alliance, mentioned that as a key partner of the Alliance, SEforALL is integral to their effort of helping countries achieve universal access to affordable, reliable, clean, and sustainable electricity. Together with the partner nations, the group’s integrated plans on country-led programs, results-based financing, and global advocacy are delivering a substantial impact in developing countries during this critical decade of action.

Launched in 2020, UEF is already operational in Madagascar, Sierra Leone, and Benin, where it has deployed many renewable energy mini-grids. In addition to the Alliance, the UEF is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, Power Africa, Good Energies, UK Aid, the Carbon Trust, AMDA, Shell Foundation, etc.