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African Renewable Energy Initiative to fund geothermal projects of up to 7,000 MW

African Renewable Energy Initiative to fund geothermal projects of up to 7,000 MW Aluto Langano geothermal plant, Ethiopia (source: UNEP, ARGeo)
Alexander Richter 28 Sep 2016

At a recent meeting on the African Renewable Energy Initiative, Ségolène Royal, President of COP21 announced that the initiative will fund up to 240 projects, of which are 13 geothermal projects with up to 7,000 MW in power generation capacity.

Last week, at the meeting of African heads of state on the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative – in the presence and on the initiative of French President François Hollande –, Ségolène Royal, President of COP21, presented the specific renewable energy projects to be embarked on in Africa without delay, in coordination with Salaheddine Mezouar, Foreign Minister of Morocco and future president of COP22.

On the basis of the COP21 President’s visits to 17 African countries, her discussions with African leaders and analysis by groups of experts, a list of 240 projects accounting for more than 45GW of renewable capacity is being made public:

  • 13 geothermal energy projects: 7 GW (7,000 MW)
  • 58 hydroelectricity projects: 20 GW
  • 62 solar energy projects: 6 GW
  • 16 wind energy projects: 5 GW
  • 35 projects combining more than one technology: 1 GW
  • 4 national strategies (solar and wind energy): 8 GW.

At the meeting at United Nations headquarters, the COP21 President is also reporting on the financing of projects decided on since the Paris Climate Conference. In the space of a few months, donors have released EUR 4.5 billion ($5 billion), helping to build [capacity for] 5.7 GW of renewable energy.

Launched by African heads of state on 1 December 2015 in the presence of French President François Hollande, the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative aims to increase the continent’s installed capacity of renewable energy by 10GW by 2020 and 300GW by 2030. During COP21, 10 donors pledged to release $10 billion (including EUR2 billion from France) to contribute to the goal of this initiative.

Source: French Embassy in the UK