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CIF: The need for starter funding to kick start geothermal development

CIF: The need for starter funding to kick start geothermal development Drilling crew at Menengai, Kenya (source: flickr/ GDC5000)
Alexander Richter 5 Oct 2015

In a piece in the Guardian, the manager of Climate Investment Funds (CIF) describes the need for early stage funding for geothermal projects and how CIF targets this.

In a recent piece in The Guardian, Mafalda Duarte, manager of Climate Investment Funds (CIF) describes how “funding [of] geothermal and solar energy projects can help to provide clean, reliable, renewable power to people, boosting green growth and reducing poverty.”

She describes the greatest barrier for Kenya and other developing countries, as the lack of funding for development, as “renewable energy projects are expensive to build.” To conquer these barriers, starter funds are necessary to get these projects off the ground. Another important element she talks about is the support by policies that “inspire confidence and growth” and I assume she particularly means providing trust in the system and investor confidence to help foster an environment that helps to attract investment.

“Climate Investment Funds has provided $25m in concessional financing for Menengai in Kenya to help cover exploratory drilling – a critical but risky stage of development and a cost that most private investors are unwilling to bear. In fact, the company has earmarked $810m to advance geothermal power projects in 15 countries. This could potentially yield 3.5GW of new geothermal capacity, more than a quarter of current global installed capacity of almost 13 GW. Prospects are promising, and more than $10bn is expected from other financiers.”

To read the full article see link below.

Source: The Guardian