ITWEB Africa reports that the money will be used to structure the Renewable Energy Investment Facility (REIF), to provide affordable finance to private sector clean energy projects involved in energy access to rural communities in Tanzania.

 

Tonia Kandiero, AfDB Resident Representative in Tanzania, said "the SEFA support to will help address existing financing gap in the market and accelerate private sector participation in off-grid electrification in Tanzania. We expect this initiative to make a real contribution to Tanzania's ambitious energy access targets, ultimately improving livelihoods for all rural communities in the country."

 

The bank's analysis of Tanzania's national electricity coverage estimates coverage to be at a little over 20 per cent with transmission grid covering a minor part of the country and leaving out most of the territory. It also found that access is even lower for the rural population at 7 per cent with nearly 30 million people lacking a connection to the electricity grid.

 

"The vastness of the country, coupled with low population densities, makes grid extension too expensive, creating a significant market potential for off-grid electrification schemes. The REIF will thus contribute to expanding rural electrification and increase access to energy services by channelling appropriately tenured and priced finance to private sector companies developing and operating energy access projects in rural areas based on renewable energy technologies," the Bank noted in its announcement.

Source : http://www.powerengineeringint.com