G20 leaders agreed to tripple global renewable energy capacity - NaijaAgroNet

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The G20 leaders have agreed to accelerate efforts to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030, aligning with recommendations from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on how the world can move in line with the Paris Agreement targets, reports NaijaAgroNet.

In a declaration adopted on Saturday, the Group cites a joint report between IRENA and India's G20 Presidency, titled Low-Cost Financing for Energy Transitions, which estimates a need for over USD 4 trillion in annual investments by 2030.

Renewable Energy: New report exposes geopolitics of critical materials in supply chains - NaijaAgroNet

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The energy transition requires a dramatic increase in the supply of critical materials, yet their supplies chains remain vulnerable to a range of geopolitical risks. 

While there is no scarcity of reserves for energy transition minerals, global capabilities for mining and refining them are limited.

AfDB commits 100% to renewable energy projects for Africa - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet: 

The African Development Bank Group has recommitted to supporting renewable energy projects by 100 per cent on the continent, reports NaijaAgroNet.

AfDB in a refutal over alleged plans to provide financial support to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project, declared ‘renewable energy as the future” path for Africa. 

The group through its Acting Director of Communication and External Relations Department, Mrs. Nafissatou Diouf, said the bank is strongly committed to renewable energies, noting that for over a decade, the bank has played a leading role in crafting policies and delivering investments that promote sustainable development practices on the continent, including climate adaptation and resilience.

“The Bank is committed to facilitating the transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient development in African countries across all its operational priority areas,” she told NaijaAgroNet in a press statement.

AfDB maintained it did not have any plan to finance the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project, declaring that the group is for “100% renewable projects and sustainable, low-emission agriculture and infrastructure.”

The Bank, she equally said, has prioritized investment in renewables and has not invested in any coal project in the past decade as it sees renewable energy as the future.

“Since the launch of the Bank’s Strategy for the New Deal on Energy in 2016, up to 2019 renewable energy projects constitute about 85% percent on average of the Bank’s power generation investments,” she said,

Maintaining that the Bank is working closely with African countries to realize their renewable energy potential and has developed dedicated programmes and instruments to achieve this goal.

Isaac Oyimah/Editor

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Off-Grid Renewable Energy Conference goes to Singapore - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

The fourth edition of the International Off-grid Renewable Energy Conference and Exhibition (IOREC) will take place in Singapore, on 31 October - 1 November 2018, as a co-located event with the Asia Clean Energy Summit, during Singapore International Energy Week, reports NaijaAgroNet. IOREC, organised by the International Renewable Energy Agency, is the global platform for sharing experience and best practices on design and implementation of enabling policies, tailored financing schemes, innovative business models and technology applications for stand-alone and mini-grid systems. IOREC 2018 will present a key opportunity to discuss the measures necessary to accelerate off-grid systems deployment, and highlight their role in meeting several Sustainable Development Goals. In parallel with the Conference, the Alliance for Rural Electrification will organise the Exhibition offering private sector companies the opportunity to present their products and projects, while showcasing the technologies and expertise at the forefront of off-grid renewables. Admin/GEE

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Companies deliberately procuring renewable electricity - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

Since the mid-2000s, companies have begun to deliberately power their operations with renewable based electricity, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Increasingly, NaijaAgroNet gathered that companies in different industries and sectors are committing to ambitious renewable energy targets.

The latest edition of IRENA Quarterly, a publication of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) which is an intergovernmental organisation supporting countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future.

Globally, NaijaAgroNet also gathered that in 2017, companies sourced approximately 465 terrawatt-hours (TWh) of renewables.

Production for self-consumption accounted for most of this (165 TWh), followed by unbundled energy attribute certificates (130 TWh), corporate power purchase agreements, or PPAs (114 TWh), and finally “green procurement” by utilities (34 TWh).

The trend is widespread and dynamic. By volume, renewable electricity was mostly consumed in heavy industries like mining, pulp and paper, chemicals and other materials production (over 160 TWh). This mainly happens through companies generating their own hydropower, but increasingly also through “self-generated” wind and solar power.

Yet the highest shares of renewable electricity consumption are found in the financial (24%) and information technology (12 per cent) sectors. Companies like Bank of America, Google, IKEA, Intel and Microsoft are among the major consumers and self-generators of renewable electricity outside the materials sector.

Companies in at least 75 countries are known to have procured renewable electricity as a deliberate choice. While North America and Europe account for most of those companies, the practice is spreading to other regions.

India and South Africa are among the top ten markets actively sourcing renewable electricity. Other developing markets, like China, Mexico and Ghana, are also experiencing significant growth in active corporate sourcing.

Most governments have not yet considered the potential of corporate sourcing in their energy strategies. Yet they recognise renewables as a way to attract new investment, meet energy needs, achieve compliance with national and international climate targets, and boost job creation.

Out of 2 410 companies analysed by IRENA, over half source renewable electricity, although only 17% indicated having a target in place. More than 200 companies source over half of their energy demand through renewables.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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Germany backs renewable energy projects in Africa with RLSF

NaijaAgroNet:

The German Development Bank also known as Kfw and the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) have on the side lines of the annual Africa Investment Exchange: Power and Renewables Meeting, unveiled a new instrument to support renewable energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa that targets small- and mid-scale up to 50 Milliwatt (MW) green power renewable energy projects, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The facility, NaijaAgroNet gathered, is designed to provide a viable solution to one of the biggest challenges facing independent power producers (IPPs) operating in Africa, specifically the requirement to provide project lenders with a liquidity guarantee. The German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through KfW will provide funding of up to 32.9 million EUR to the facility, which aims to enable small-and mid-scale renewable energy projects in Africa to reach financial close by addressing liquidity requirements that lenders frequently require in order to fund such projects.

NaijaAgroNet reports that the launch of the new facility is happening at an opportune moment when emerging markets are seeing record investments in the renewable energy sector. The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects sub-Saharan Africa’s renewables capacity to grow by 73 per cent (24.4GW) over the period 2017-22. In addition, small-scale projects are seen as a potential solution to Africa’s energy deficit because they are easier to implement and can target energy requirements at source, but these projects find it difficult to access the type of guarantees needed to reach financial closure. The facility will kick in by providing immediate liquidity to keep the IPP afloat during periods of payment delays that are beyond the grace period provided in the power purchase agreement.

Günther Nooke, Personal Representative of the German Chancellor for Africa, BMZ, said “The Regional Liquidity Support Facility will address a key challenge in renewable energy project finance and de-risk private sector investments. We are pleased to provide the funding to this innovative instrument underlining Germany’s commitment to the objectives of the African Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI).”

The RLSF is designed to help independent power producers (IPPs) developing renewable energy projects in Africa to obtain the liquidity they need in the event that their off-taker (frequently a state owned entity) delays payment. The facility will provide immediate cash collateral supported by guarantees to a commercial bank that will in turn open a standby letter of credit to the benefit of the IPP. The amount provided will enable the IPP to operate and service the debt for up to 6 months. Furthermore, unlike most IPP letters of credit (which tend to be 12 month tenors) the facility is designed to be in place for multiple years.

Dr. Thomas Duve, KfW Director Southern Africa and Regional Funds, noted “We highly appreciate the opportunity to partner with ATI on this innovative instrument. The RLSF is a strongly market-driven concept, emphasizing KfW’s strategy to support and leverage the resources of local partners and the private sector.”

The facility, in combination with ATI’s traditional suite of political and trade credit risk insurance products (in particular ATI’s arbitration award default cover), means that ATI is able to cover the full range of political and financial risks facing investors on such projects.

Speaking at the launch, John Lentaigne, ATI’s Chief Underwriting Officer commented “We are delighted to be working with the German government, represented by KfW, on an initiative that directly targets one of the main bottlenecks preventing green power projects from being financed in Africa.”

Jef Vincent, Senior Advisor to ATI, who has overall responsibility for the initial implementation of the facility, added “Unlike some of the alternative solutions to the liquidity issue, ATI’s guarantee (as provided via the RLSF) will not require a counter-guarantee from the relevant Ministry of Finance, and as such we are confident this will be a very useful tool for those projects that we expect to support.”

Isaac Oyimah with agency report/GEE

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