The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has given US$150 million to the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the 10 gigawatts (GW) Desert to Power solar initiative which is expected to lead to substantial carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reductions through photovoltaic solar systems via public, private, grid and off-grid projects by 2030.

Renewables Now said in a report that the money would go to the Desert to Power G5 Financing Facility, which was set up to receive US$966 over a seven-year period to assist the G5 Sahel countries – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – to adopt low-emission power generation.

The facility will deploy financing for low-emissions power projects for both on-grid and off-grid solar projects and is expected to benefit more than 30 million people.

Javier Manzanares, GCF deputy executive director, was quoted as saying: “The Desert to Power G5 Sahel Facility has the potential to make an enormous difference in people’s lives across the Sahel by tapping into the immense potential of solar energy, generating cheaper, reliable and low-emission electricity. GCF’s catalytic financing alongside that of the African Development Bank and the private sector will together mobilise nearly $1 billion for this truly transformative project.”

The Desert to Power project aims to adopt a low-emission modes of electricity production by exploiting the region’s abundant solar potential and is expected to help reduce emissions by 14.4 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions.

The G5 regional roadmap includes major projects that will improve access to electricity and relieve the energy frustrations faced by the countries.

The roadmap focuses on four priorities: solar energy and large-scale storage; integration of the grids of the G5 Sahel countries; enabling the pan-Sahelian off-grid programme; and hybridising thermal power plants with renewable energy sources.

The Desert to Power initiative is a large part of a wider AfDB drive to invest in climate-related programmes, as well as contributing to nation energy-access targets.

This is the latest effort by development partners and government leaders of the G5 Sahel countries to foster a large-scale transformation of energy sectors in the region and make the most of its abundant renewable energy potential.

The trading of electricity across borders will form an integral part of the Desert to Power and could provide enormous opportunities for cost savings and much-needed sources of revenue across the region.