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Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI)

The Africa Renewable Energy Initiative aims:

To help achieve sustainable development, enhanced well being, and sound economic development by ensuring universal access to sufficient amounts of clean, appropriate and affordable energy
To help African countries leapfrog towards renewable energy systems that support their low-carbon development strategies while enhancing economic and energy security

The initiative is set to achieve at least 10 GW of new and additional renewable energy generation capacity by 2020 and at least 300 GW by 2030. AREI supports two different types of projects:

Policy development projects (governance interventions like capacity building, economic instruments like guarantees and feed-in-tariffs, etc.)
Renewable Energy Installation projects

AREI is in Phase I (2017-2020), where assessments, preparations, and enabling activities are being undertaken to lay the groundwork for Phase II (2020-2030), which will focus on roll-out of nationally determined policies, programs, and incentives.

Support provider

Several international partners have provided funding.

Purpose of support

Project and program implementation

Eligible countries and regions

All countries in Africa are eligible.

Eligibility criteria

All of the following essential requirements must be met for a policy development project/policy programme or incentive to be eligible as AREI compliant for attribution and eligible for consideration of AREI Trust Fund support.

Location: the project should be located in Africa and in line with the host government(s)/ region’s or continental priorities and with no objections from other countries impacted and concerned, particularly in the case where the project has trans-boundary impacts.
Purpose: the project must have a clearly defined, and demonstrable public benefit for the energy poor.
Technology: the project must have an explicit renewable energy focus and cannot promote fossil fuels or nuclear energy.
Socio-economic and environmental impacts: internationally accepted, and when applicable, AREI specific social and environmental safeguards must have been successfully applied with thorough and participatory analysis of possible adverse impacts concluding these are minimal or nonexistent.
Informed consent: Project-impacted countries and communities have prior and informed consent, as well as the opportunity to participate throughout from planning through implementation.
Policy impacts: The policy development project/policy programme include stakeholder involvement and foresee socio-economic, environmental, gender and/or other development co-benefits.
Additionally: the policy development project/policy programme or incentive is enabled through additional efforts and would not have happened otherwise.

Financial instruments

Grants, Concessional loans, In-kind contributions, Guarantees

Decision-making information

The AREI will be led by Africans and strongly anchored in existing African political and decision-making processes. Governing rules ensure that the Initiative remains fully Africa-led, and that all activities contributing to it – whether pursued through the Independent Delivery Unit and the AREI Trust Fund or directly through countries or other institutions – adhere to the AREI guiding principles.

The Board of Directors mobilizes political support, provide strategic oversight and vision, ensure African leadership and ownership of the Initiative, set priorities, objectives and milestones, foster resource mobilization, and oversee the implementation of the project pipeline and the annual work plan.

The Technical Committee will be composed of high level experts with proven experience in the energy sector, in investment and development issues on the continent or in developing countries. The Committee's main role is to define the initiative’s operational priorities and objectives, review and select submitted projects; oversee resource mobilization activities; ensure coherence with other initiatives; and recommend funding for supportive activities, incentives, and investments.

Independent Delivery Unit will be hosted by the AfDB and provide a secretariat role for the Board and the Technical Committee, coordinate and prepare annual work plans, coordinate and conduct supporting activities across all clusters; coordinate and facilitate support and finance to accelerate implementation, design and manage grant application and assessment procedures in consultation with the Trustee; and communicate with stakeholders on behalf of the Initiative.

The Trustee – accountable to the Board of Directors – will manage funds and investments; design and manage grant application and assessment procedures with the Independent Delivery Unit; ensure adherence with risk management and compliance procedures.

Monitoring and reporting procedures

The Initiative will establish clear governing rules fully in line with the guiding principles and operations, monitoring and evaluation procedures. These need to ensure that the Initiative remains fully Africa-led, and that all activities contributing to it, whether pursued through the Delivery Unit and Trustee facility or directly through countries or other institutions, adhere to the AREI guiding principles. Monitoring and evaluation procedures must be established that correspond to the principle of African ownership, recognize the need for flexibility, and ensure efficient and transparent use of resources.

Information on how to...

Access a full list of selection criteria is available here. Reference the AREI framework for details of the initiative, including context, goals and guidelines, activity clusters, elements of the implementation strategy and governance and management.

Climate objective

Mitigation

Sectors and themes

Renewable Energy, Rural Development

Type of support provider

Multilateral

Type of recipient

Public entity at the national level, Public entity at the sub-national level, Public entity at the regional level, International organization, Non-profit or civil society organization, Community-level organization

Co-financing required

Trustee or administrator

African Development Bank (AfDB)

Contact information

http://www.arei.org/

mimikaseyni@gmail.com, info@arei.org

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Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI)

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