NAIROBI – The Africa Minigrid Developers Association (AMDA) and Energy Peace Partners (EPP) have announced a new collaboration to expand access to investment for renewable energy minigrids that benefit under-electrified and unelectrified communities across Africa.
The AMDA-EPP collaboration seeks to increase the visibility of AMDA members and the renewable energy projects they aspire to develop among multinational corporations and the wider global climate community. The collaboration focuses on expanding the African market for International Renewable Energy Certificates (I-RECs), including Peace Renewable Energy Credits (P-RECs). P-RECs serve as a quality label for qualifying high-impact I-REC projects in fragile, energy poor countries that deliver significant social and economic benefits to local communities.
More specifically, Africa Minigrid Developers Association and EPP are collaborating to produce new initiatives that help expand incentives for corporations with environmental and social impact goals to support AMDA members’ projects, expand the number of countries with voluntary clean energy markets to attract corporate buyers, and create new educational resources and market insights for AMDA members.
“AMDA is committed to working with all stakeholders to meet critical climate goals through expanding access to clean energy and advocating for an enabling environment to attract investments into renewable energy minigrids,” said Olamide Niyi-Afuye, the CEO of AMDA. “This collaboration wouldn’t have come at a better time to help us deliver on member value for our member companies across Africa.”
“This collaboration with AMDA is critical for EPP efforts to support new renewable energy minigrid projects in Africa and expand the pipeline of P-REC projects to meet growing demand among corporate buyers for clean energy projects that also deliver meaningful social impact,” said David Mozersky, President of EPP. “We are excited to work with Africa Minigrid Developers Association and the wider AMDA member community to advance renewable energy as a building block for peace and development across the continent.”
By cultivating the market and incentives for corporate buyers for I-RECs and especially P-RECs in Africa, Africa Minigrid Developers Association and EPP will help increase the revenue that AMDA members can secure from new renewable energy projects, accelerating and enhancing financing terms and expanding access to carbon-free electricity to more under-electrified and unelectrified communities.
Renewable energy investment continues to increase around the world as policymakers, companies, investors, and nonprofit stakeholders work together to address the climate finance gap and more than triple annual investment in renewable energy to make the 1.5°C target possible. However, these investments continue to overlook the world’s most under-electrified and unelectrified communities, perpetuating climate equity issues in the world’s most fragile countries. To date, communities across Africa have secured only 2% of the $3 trillion invested globally in renewables.
