Namibia has submitted six project proposals for different renewable energy projects that need investment to the Accelerated Partnership for Renewables for Africa (Apra).
The total number of projects submitted by the 10 member states of Apra are 22. Of these, only four have reached the final investment decision.
During the second investment forum for Apra hosted in Sierra Leone, a country focus report on Namibia showed that policy and regulatory gaps are slowing participation and investment in the renewable energy sector.
“Energy sector bottlenecks to be addressed include policies and regulations, and currently Namibia is doing a modified single buyer framework to improve independent power producer participation,” reads the report.
Many of the projects are still facing financing challenges because the member states cannot provide collateral for investments and the cost of renewable energy is high.
Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security chairperson Kandeh Yumkella says one of the challenges African countries face in securing financing for projects is the perceived risk associated with the continent.
He says to address this, there has to be guaranteed credit schemes that will give confidence to investors when it comes to their returns.
“There have been guarantee schemes that allow African countries to provide guarantees of repayment to the nations that loan them money to start these projects,” says Yumkella.
Earlier this year, the African Guarantee Fund launched the Mission 300 Local Currency Guarantee Facility, an initiative to mobilise US$5 billion to support energy access projects across Africa.
This facility targets financing for small and medium-sized enterprises in the distributed renewable energy sector.
The facility forms part of an initiative led by the African Development Bank Group and the World Bank Group to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030.
According to data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), Africa faces a significant energy access challenge, with approximately 600 million people lacking electricity as of 2023.
The continent is estimated to require an annual investment of nearly US$25 billion to achieve universal energy access by 2030.
Currently, Apra’s member countries include Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
The partnership receives support from Denmark, Germany, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, with Irena serving as its secretariat and a dedicated office under the United Nations Office for Project Services established to support implementation.
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