Green Climate Fund approves $150m support for AfDB ‘s Desert-to- Power Initiative

President African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina has expressed appreciation for the Green Climate Fund’s approval of $150 million to support its Desert-to-Power Initiative. Adesina made this known through his verified twitter handle @akin_ adesina. According to Adesina, this will support efforts to expand electricity access in Nigeria and 10 other countries in Africa’s Sahel belt. The 10 other countries are Burrkina Faso, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan, Djibouti, Senegal and Chad.

He said the initiative would help the countries’ efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDDs) targets and the Paris Climate Agreement commitments. “This initiative will provide 10 gigawatts of electricity to reach 250 million people across the Sahel region, including Northern Nigeria,” Adesina said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Desert-to-Power, a 20 billion dollars flagship initiative led by the AfDB to light up and power the Sahel region, was inaugurated by the Bank in 2015. It is aimed at supporting the development of an electricity generation capacity of 10, 000 mw through photovoltaic solar systems via grid and off-grid projects.

The Desert-to-Power initiative will create the world’s largest concentrated solar zone and draw lessons from successful projects already financed by the Bank, including the Noor Ouarzazate solar power project in Morocco, and the Ben Ban solar project in Egypt. The Sahel is among the regions in the world that radiates the most sunlight. The Initiative will harness this solar energy source and it is part of the AfDB’s new deal for Energy in Africa and a key pillar of the Great Green Wall initiative.