Access Power, a developer, owner and operator of renewable power projects in emerging markets, has announced the winners of the 2016 US$7 million Access Co-Development Facility (ACF), a financial support mechanism for renewable energy projects in Africa.
Three projects from Nigeria, Madagascar, and Sierra Leone, fought off fierce competition from almost 100 entries to win a share of US$7million prize. The prize also includes a package of technical support designed to bring their renewable energy projects to life.
The winners are AGES PLC (25MW solar project in Sierra Leone), Mentach Energy (50 MW wind project in Nigeria), and Stucky Ltd (25MW Hydro & Solar project in Madagascar). Collectively, the projects will deliver 100 megawatts of electricity to 340,000 homes.
The winners were announced in London at the 18th annual Africa Energy Forum, following a presentation by five shortlisted developers to a panel of expert judges. The judges selected the three winners based on commercial, technical and environmental merits, as well as the local regulatory environment, and capability of the project team.
Reda El Chaar, Executive Chairman of Access Power said: “I am delighted to congratulate today’s well-deserved winners and we look forward to working with each of them to provide the technical skills, expertise and financing to get their projects across the finish line.
“There is still a massive, urgent need for electrification in Africa and we firmly believe that renewable energy will be a significant part of the solution. This year’s ACF competition introduced us to almost 100 projects, demonstrating the scale of entrepreneurialism and ambition across the African continent to meet the electrification challenge.”
ACF 2016 saw unprecedented participation with a 75% increase in applications from the inaugural ACF 2015. Submissions came from 25 different African countries, a 40% annual uplift in the number of countries involved, with 95% of the projects submitted came from Sub-Saharan Africa, a key growth area for Access Power.
