- The Republic of Benin to receive 107,000 high-quality solar home systems.
- The European Investment Bank collaborates with ENGIE Energy Access for renewable energy deployment in Benin.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) plans to partner with renewable energy developer ENGIE Energy Access to provide a EUR 10 million loan to deploy top-notch solar home systems in Benin. The financing opportunity will open up access to clean energy for 643,000 people. The SHS will comprise solar panels and battery storage. It will be sold on Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) contracts.
In a statement by the Vice President of the European Investment Bank, Ambroise Fayolle, “Vulnerable communities across Africa are being impacted by global energy shocks triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and so improving access to affordable and clean energy is even more important to fight poverty, create jobs and empower women and girls. The European Investment Bank is pleased to agree on new support for scaling up off-grid solar deployment to West Africa under this new partnership with ENGIE.”
Gillian-Alexandre Huart, ENGIE Energy Access CEO, said: “Over the last couple of years, the private sector has developed off-grid solutions such as solar home systems (SHS), micro-and mini-grids, which have proven to be sustainable and economical solutions to reach universal energy access by 2030.”
The new Benin cooperation follows EIB’s previous support for ENGIE to deploy off-grid solar power in Uganda. Benin is the sixth African country to benefit from the EIB’s streamlined support for African off-grid energy investment, following recent backing for projects in Mozambique, Uganda, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Comoros.