The Board of Directors at the World Bank have approved a funding of $22.5 million towards the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP). This is being given out in the form of grants from the International Development Association (IDA), a subsidiary of the World Bank, and the Clean Technology Funds (CTF).
The financing is aimed at supporting development of off-grid renewable systems in Western and Central Africa and increasing access to electricity across 19 countries in the region. Solar systems ranging from 20 to 350 kWp and other tailor-made solutions will be provided in each of the countries.
The funding is in line with the $150 million of IDA and $67.2 million CTF which was approved by the World Bank in April 2019 for this project. ROGEAP, launched in 2019, is undergoing a new development.
1.7 million people are expected to benefit across the countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone, as well as Togo.
West Africa is a region with unreliable electricity supply and a need for more developed electricity supply systems. Currently, only 50 per cent of the population in West Africa has access to electricity. Those who do have access to electricity pay among the highest prices in the World (more than double those of consumers in East Africa). In addition, due to operational deficiencies, electricity services are unreliable, with an average of 44 hours of outages per month. To combat this issue, earlier in August 2020, the World Bank group approved a $300 million grant to help Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, and Sierra Leone promote electricity trade within West Africa.