$225m from World Bank for West-African off-grid project – including Ghana

The World Bank Group grants $225 million to the Regional Off-Grid Electrification Project (ROGEP), an initiative to increase the share of renewable electricity in the ECOWAS region and 4 Sahelian countries. Ghana is among the countries where standalone solar system projects will get a boost.

$225 million for off-grid project

The $225 million includes $150 million from the International Development Association, in the form of credit and grant. Additionally, the Clean Technology Fund will impart $74.7 million as a contingent recovery grant.

ROGEP

The aim of the ROGEP off-grid project is to get electricity to around 1.7 million people who now lack a (stable) connection. With the use of stand-alone solar systems, they want to increase electricity access for households, public institutions and businesses.

The countries in the ECOWAS and Sahel have a high (market) potential for solar. Unfortunately, investments are often lacking in the region. Considering this, the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) and The World Bank Group want to benefit the solar market. Consequently, they initiated the start of the off-grid project ROGEP. ECREE and Banque Ouest Africaine de Dévelopment (BOAD) are the technical and financial implementators of the project. Furthermore, the World Bank Group is the funder.

Together, they set the goal to increase the renewable energy mix to 10% by 2020. After 2020, they are not finished. Hence, in 2030, they want 19% of the electricity in the countries to come from renewable sources.

Benefits

There are several benefits, besides electricity access, that can come from this project. Firstly, it supports market intelligent studies to show the opportunities and challenges in the off-grid sector. Furthermore, a gender strategy is part of the project, where the project aims to close the gender gap. There will be equal participation of men and women. As with many projects, there are also some risks. ROGEP is aware of certain social, environmental and occupational safety risks. As strategy has been developed to reduce these risks.