- The European Investment Bank (EIB) signs a partnership with the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) at COP 27.
- The agreement covers implementing a €400 million investment programme in renewable energy.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is supporting the energy transition in Southern Africa, making this commitment in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on the sidelines of the 27th United Nations Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP27). The EIB is partnering with the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) to provide €400 million over the next few years.
The recently unveiled investment plan will aid the private sector, particularly the independent power producers (IPPs), at the centre of South Africa’s energy transition. Each partner will give the Embedded Generation Investment Program €200 million (EGIP). By providing risk capital for initiatives carried out by private sector organizations and local governments, this DBSA initiative offers a credit assistance facility to finance embedded renewable energy projects.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF), through which DBSA has funded renewable energy projects through the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program, has already provided EGIP (REIPPPP) funding. The EIB claims that the financing facility with DBSA will finance energy efficiency projects supported by the private sector and onshore wind and solar photovoltaic power generation.
According to the EIB, the projects financed “should provide South Africans with a reliable source of energy at a lower cost than fossil fuels” According to him, the joint investment programme with DBSA will contribute to the development of 1 200 MW of installed capacity. It will avoid emissions of 3.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent when all supported projects are operational.