Sefa finances $8m for productive use of off-grid solar in Ethiopia

The DREAM (Distributed Renewable Energy-Agriculture Modalities) programme has received new funding for its deployment in Ethiopia. The sum of $8 million was recently approved by the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group.

Provided in the form of concessional loans, grants and risk mitigation by the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (Sefa), the funding will support a pilot project “to test the commercial viability and effectiveness of a business model integrating mini-grids with agro-industrial operations at nine sites in Ethiopia”, says the AfDB.

The DREAM programme “offers an innovative approach to tackling the water-energy-food nexus in Ethiopia. It demonstrates the importance of partnerships and the catalytic role played by Sefa in attracting private sector investment in energy access”, explains Daniel Schroth, the AfDB Group’s Director of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

Also supported by the European Investment Bank (EIB), this multilateral programme has been developed in collaboration with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) to transform several sectors, including irrigated agriculture and drinking water using off-grid solar energy.

The Ethiopian part of the project is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Irrigation and Lowlands, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI). In this drought-affected country in the Horn of Africa, the DREAM initiative will enable the deployment of 200 solar mini-grids for the electrification and productive use of electricity. Sefa will contribute 50% of the funding.