Advancing Renewables in Developing Countries

 Progress of projects supported through the IRENA/ADFD Project Facility 

The IRENA/ADFD Project Facility represents a partnership between the two key organisations to promote renewable energy in developing countries. This report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) reviews concrete progress over the first five years of their joint facility to finance such projects.

Between 2014 and 2018, projects selected in five annual cycles were awarded concessional loans worth USD 214 million, with 16 projects subsequently advancing through various stages of implementation. Seven projects from early cycles reached the construction or installation stage, with renewable power generation set to start in 2019.

The loans were allocated by ADFD based on IRENA recommendations.

Project profiles highlight the expected development impacts, including added renewable power capacity, expanded energy access, heating and cooling services, job creation and other socio-economic benefits, as reported by project proponents.

The report outlines the advancement of IRENA/ADFD-supported projects spanning a range of renewable energy technologies:

• First cycle:
• Maldives:Small-scale waste-to-energy
• Mali: Hybrid systems for rural electrification
• Mauritania: Wind electrification for coastal communities
• Sierra Leone: A solar park for the capital, Freetown

• Second cycle:
• Argentina: A multi-purpose hydropower project
• Cuba: Grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) power
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Public-private geothermal energy development

• Third cycle:
• Antigua and Barbuda: A solar-wind hybrid project transforming water services
• Burkina Faso: Rural electrification through hybrid solar mini-grids
• Senegal: Rural electrification through village-level solar PV plants

• Fourth cycle:
• Marshall Islands:Solar micro-grid hybrid development
• Niger: Solar rural electrification
• Seychelles: Solar PV integration with an existing offshore wind farm
• Solomon Islands: Hydropower to cut diesel imports

• Fifth cycle:
• Mauritius: Household solar PV systems
• Rwanda:Solar PV home systems

IRENA is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As part of the UAE bid to host the intergovernmental agency, ADFD made the commitment to provide USD 350 million in concessional co-financing for the implementation of government-supported renewable energy projects in developing countries. The funding, distributed over seven selection cycles, is allocated to projects that IRENA identifies as scalable, replicable and potentially transformative.