AfDB signs up partners for 10-GW Desert to Power programme

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Africa50 investment fund to collaborate on the Desert to Power programme that seeks to develop 10 GW of solar across the Sahel region.

The LoI was signed on the sidelines of AfDB's annual meetings in Busan, Korea, it said today. The three institutions have committed to share ideas and resources about opportunities for solar power generation in Sahel, a region in western and north-central Africa extending from Senegal to Sudan.

AfDB's Desert to Power initiative aims to provide solar electricity to 250 million people, including 90 million through off-grid installations.

"The Desert to Power programme will transform countries in the Sahel region by accelerating their access to energy through solar power," said AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina. "To realize this ambition, strong collaboration is needed. Therefore the partnership with the Green Climate Fund and Africa 50 is a great milestone and will help us deliver at scale," he added.

The countries part of the initiative include Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Senegal and Sudan.

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