Portuguese renewable energy company EDP has announced €500,000 in funding to help Africa accelerate its uptake of renewable energy.
EDP will sponsor the deployment of eight renewable energy projects in five countries.
The funding has been issued through the Access to Energy (A2E) Fund and will finance projects in Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria and Malawi.
The eight projects are expected to benefit more than one million people.
The financing aims to promote access to clean energy, particularly in remote and underprivileged areas, and to help tackle energy poverty in Africa.
The financial support is part of a global strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa, which has led the company to invest in several projects in the region.
The projects set to benefit from the funding range from the installation of solar panels to the creation of innovative irrigation systems.
With three projects, Kenya stands out in the list of selected organisations followed by Malawi, with two organisations.
In Kenya, Dadreg has submitted a 15 kWp solar energy system for a community training center in Nairobi. This system will allow 980 young people from an underprivileged neighborhood to get professional training for paid jobs. It will also contribute to reducing energy costs by 70%.
UNICEF has applied with a project to install two 1.8 kWp solar energy systems for water pumping in two schools and neighboring communities in Malawi. The system will provide local communities with access to drinking water.
