The EU invests in the development of a photovoltaic power station

Company News from Saturday, June 15, 2019

Source: GNA

2019-06-15

The European Union (EU) would invest in the development of a 10 MW photovoltaic plant in the ecological zone of Northern Savannah in Ghana.

Mr Jyrki Katainen, Vice President of the European Commission for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, said the project, once completed, would increase the number of private sector companies in the country. private sector with access to affordable and reliable electricity.

He said the Union was making its investments using two innovative financial instruments: blending and guarantees.

"By combining our resources, we use grants to finance projects that often require the financial support of several financial organizations. We simply "combine" our grant with loans from other organizations, Katainen said on Thursday during his presentation to the Council on Foreign Relations – Ghana's public lecture series in Accra.

"The EU can no longer only finance complex and large infrastructure projects, but it can mix grants with loans."
Speaking on the theme "Africa-EU alliance: a relationship for the future," Katainen said in Ghana, about 80 million euros of EU subsidies would have been mobilized to mobilize around 750 million euros of investment projects in the energy sector. transport and agriculture.

He said all these investments were productive to boost competitiveness, increase productivity and meet the most pressing needs of private sector companies, which would positively impact job creation and creation. ; jobs.
Sustainable development.

He said that the EU had strengthened the West African Power Pool System (WAPP) by building 210 km of 225 kV power lines in Bolgatanga (Ghana). ) in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) to export energy produced in Ghana at lower cost to Burkina Faso. With regard to stimulating investments and financing, Katainen, who is on a two-day official visit to Ghana and Togo, said: "We believe that the main problem is to reduce risks and, to achieve this, , we proposed to the EU External Investment Plan to boost investment.

"The experience gained from the external investment plan 3, thanks to the programs currently under preparation in sub-Saharan Africa and in the EU neighborhood, has mobilized 37.1 billion euros of public and private funds.
investments since 2017 and we are on track to reach 44 billion euros by 2020, "he said.

Mr Katainen said that the EU wanted to do a lot more after 2020, with the aim of raising up to 500 billion euros in investments and leveraged grants from the EU. here 2027.

"At the same time, our support for the private sector is increasing considerably, in particular thanks to the European ElectriFI: REDAVIA instrument, where we have invested two million euros to offer rental solar energy at favorable prices.
businesses and communities. "

Another example is PEG Africa, an off-grid badet finance company, which distributes solar on-demand payment technology to consumers who do not have access to reliable electricity and services at the same time. formal banking.
services.

He added that PEG had more than 55,000 customers, more than 400 full-time employees and 72 service centers across Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal.

Mr Katainen said that the EU-ElectriFI would provide five million euros, which represents 20% of the funding needed to bring the customer base to around 128,000 customers. declare that it means provide
access to electricity to more than 640,000 people.

He mentioned the NASIRA (Risk Sharing Mechanism), the first collateral tool signed last December, offering a total investment envelope of 750 million euros across sub-Saharan Africa, including including Ghana.

Its goal is to create 800,000 jobs and increase access to finance for those who are generally struggling to obtain it, such as migrants, young people and women.
Mr Katainen said Ghanaian local banks would benefit from these guarantees, which would allow them to invest in any of the advanced ideas that would be too risky to support.

He said that improving access to electricity and affordability were one of the pillars of a quick response action plan. government to improve the business environment.