ElectriFI - Facilité pour l'expansion des énergies renouvelables en Afrique (ARESUF)

ARESUF is a technical assistance and guarantee facility that aims at:
• reinforcing the public sector’s capacities - public policy, sector planning, tender preparation for IPP on-grid projects, electrification sector strategies and preparation of financing of private or public sector renewable energy initiatives;
• supporting private sector projects in the off-grid and mini-grid sub-sectors focusing on solar (in Africa) by covering with a partial guarantee up to 50% of the equity investment of Proparco and up to 90% Proparco’s losses.
Technical Assistance component:
• 6 off-grid projects prepared (connecting approx. 240,000 households);
• 12 on-grid projects prepared (approx. 240 MW installed capacity);
• 240,000 tCO2eq/year avoided.
Guarantee Facility:
• 5 to 10 companies benefitting from Proparco direct equity investment with the support of the EU guarantee facility;
• 1 million households with secured access to sustainable energy services through off-grid, mini-grid or decentralized generation;
• 50 MW additional capacity of decentralized renewable energy.
Technical Assistance component:
The following activities have been carried out in 2018:

• Continued identification of a pipeline of potential renewable energy-based projects, both in the grid-tied and off-grid sectors, and
• Continued dialogue with governments and relevant public authorities regarding the needs to adapt national policies, legal and regulatory frameworks in order to enhance the private sector involvement in the development of renewable energy-based generation capacities and in the field of off-grid energy access.

Following these activities, Technical Assistance needs were identified in 20 countries (Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia) following requests formulated by the beneficiary countries. The implementation of the following studies has started as of end 2018:

• Market study on off-grid sector for designing suited funding scheme in West and East Africa (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo);
• Biopio 15 MW hydropower plant rehabilitation in Angola;
• Scoping and first feasibility study for the Solar Plan in Burkina Faso;
• Optimization of large hydropower plants in Kenya;
• Preliminary studies for smart grid and PV projects in Senegal;
• First phase of STEG’s Smart-Grid investment program in Tunisia;
• Validation study for a 80 MW wind energy plant in Tunisia;
• Feasibility study for a 150 MWp PV power plant in Tanzania;
• Pre-feasibility study for grid densification and hybrid mini-grids in Tanzania;

Guarantee Facility:
Two projects have received approval in principle for support under the ARE Scale-Up Guarantee Facility in 2018.
The first proposal approved in principle in August 2018 for support under the ARE Scale-Up Facility envisages the deployment of PAYG Solar Home Systems in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Benin and/or Senegal.
The second proposal approved in principle in November 2018 for support under the ARE Scale-Up Facility envisages the deployment of solar energy and smart metering systems to households, businesses and communities using innovative smart technology products and systems. The following countries are targeted: Rwanda, Togo, Kenya, DRC, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Benin, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Nigeria.

Technical Assistance component:
A pipeline of Technical Assistance/studies has been built (12 studies contracted in 2018, 17 prospects to be screened for implementation in 2019).
Guarantee Facility:
Given that the 2 proposals received under the Guarantee Facility are only at the stage of having received the approval in principle, no concrete results are available at this point.