UK Government invests £100 million in renewable energy projects in Africa
The UK Government has invested £100 million in renewable energy projects across Africa.
The UK Government has invested £100 million in renewable energy projects across Africa.
The investment, announced at COP24 in Poland, will ensure that hundreds of thousands of people will get electricity for the first time. It will support up to 40 more renewable energy projects over the next five years.
The projects funded by the new investment could help cut carbon emissions equivalent to those created by 800,000 cars a year.
Developers of small-scale solar, wind, hydro and geothermal projects will be supported to harness each country’s natural resources, and the electricity generated is expected to provide 2.4 million people a year with new or improved access to clean energy.
Claire Perry, Energy and Clean Growth Minister, said: “At home we’re world leaders in cutting emissions while growing our economy and abroad we’re showing our international leadership by giving countries a helping hand to shift to greener, cleaner economies. This £100 million will help communities harness the power of their natural resources to provide hundreds of thousands of people with electricity for the first time. Building these clean, reliable sources of energy will also create thousands of quality jobs in these growing green economies.”
Expected results include hydropower from the Nzoia River in Kenya, providing 290,000 people with energy and creating 330 jobs as well as solar power for 70,000 people in Kilosa, Tanzania.
This news follows the UK Government announcing a string of funding for developing countries, including £15.6 million to help countries vulnerable to climate change have a voice in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations.
