USTDA says it is accepting clean energy project proposals in Nigeria, others

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency is expanding its investments in sustainable energy projects across sub-Saharan Africa. An implementing agency of both the Power Africa and U.S.-Africa Clean Energy Finance (US-ACEF) initiatives, USTDA invests in project preparation activities designed to generate renewable and gas-fired power, modernize electric grids and increase energy efficiency. The Agency’s programs are available to help African project sponsors prepare bankable clean energy projects.

Interested project sponsors in sub-Saharan Africa – or U.S. companies working with African project sponsors – should submit an initial proposal (not to exceed five pages) to USTDA no later than Monday, September 26, 2016 at 5:00pm Eastern Time to be considered for funding. To get further information and begin the proposal process, please contact PowerAfrica@ustda.gov. Proposals will be considered for funding under both Power Africa and US-ACEF.

Power Africa is a U.S. government-led initiative that addresses one of the most pressing challenges to sustainable economic growth and development in sub-Saharan Africa: access to electrical power. President Obama launched Power Africa to bring together technical and legal experts, the private sector and governments from around the world to increase the number of people with access to power. Power Africa aims to increase installed power capacity by adding more than 30,000 megawatts of cleaner, more efficient electricity generation capacity and 60 million new home and business connections. USTDA’s investments under Power Africa provide critical early-stage support to advance new power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure.

US-ACEF is a U.S. State Department-funded program that aligns U.S. government resources to support significant private sector investments in African clean energy infrastructure. Under this program, USTDA is leveraging its project preparation expertise to support clean energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as coordinating with the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation to link renewable energy projects to sources of financing.