4 June 2014: The European Commission (EC) has announced that the EU will provide financial support to sixteen energy projects in rural Africa, bringing electricity to two million people in nine countries. The funding, totaling €95 million, is part of a new EU electrification program focused on improving access to modern, affordable and sustainable energy services to the rural poor through renewable energy and energy efficiency measures.

EC Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, made the announcement at the New Business Models for Bringing Sustainable Energy to the Energy Poor event, which took place at the First Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) Forum on 4 June, in New York, US. UN Development Progamme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark and Kandeh Yumkella, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for SE4ALL, also attended the event.

Support for the wind, solar, hydro, and biomass projects was allocated through the EU’s last Energy Facility Call for Proposals and will be augmented with an additional €60 million in co-financing. The following countries are part of the initiative: Madagascar, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Cameroon, Uganda, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Eritrea and Rwanda. [EC Press Release] [IISD RS Policy & Practice story on EU Support for Sustainable Energy Development] [IISD RS coverage of SE4ALL Forum]