1 March 2016: During the month of February, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) and the World Bank announced sustainable energy project funding and initiatives. In addition, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and EIB released publications related to finance and the clean energy sector, and AfDB, EBRD and the World Bank reported on events highlighting sustainable energy solutions.

The announced funding will be deployed in Albania, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic (fYR) of Macedonia, France, Indonesia, Jordan, Senegal, Seychelles, Tanzania, Turkey, the UK and Ukraine.

In Albania and the fYR of Macedonia, the EU announced a €12 million grant to construct the first electricity connector between the two countries and introduce grid efficiency improvements. The project is part of an effort to introduce a regional electricity market in the Western Balkans, allowing transmission and production capacity to be managed in such a way as to reduce waste and excess capacity. [EBRD Press Release]

In Belgium, EIB and Belfius Bank are partnering under their Smart Cities & Sustainable Development programme to finance two projects in the municipality of Silly: the full redevelopment of Square Camille Theys in the village of Bassilly; and the installation of 42 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the municipal school in Graty. [EIB Press Release]

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, up to €8.5 million are being made available by EBRD to improve the power grid, including construction of the necessary infrastructure required by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E). The financing will also support upgrades to the IT, energy management, supervisory control and data acquisition systems. The enhancements are expected to decrease technical losses, making the grid more energy efficient, and decrease carbon intensity, lowering the country’s carbon emissions. [EBRD Press Release]

In France, EIB and the Caisse des Dépôts are lending €230 million for energy efficiency renovations in 22 buildings of the Lyon University campus. The project aims to reduce energy consumption on the campus by 40% by 2021. [EIB Press Release]

In Indonesia, ADB intends to increase lending to the country to approximately US$2 billion annually for the next five years. The increased financing will support the country’s development priorities, including loans for clean energy in 2016. [ADB Press Release]

Also in Indonesia, ADB made the first disbursement under a US$600 million results-based lending (RBL) programme to the state-owned power company, Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), for power grid modernization in Sumatra. The US$120 million disbursement will help increase energy access on the island, where 16% of the population lacks modern energy services. Future disbursements from the RBL programme will be made over the next four years, after PLN achieves the requisite results. [ADB Press Release, 2 December 2015] [ADB Press Release, 3 February 2016]

In Jordan, a US$13 million loan from EBRD to the Greater Amman Municipality will help modernize the Al Ghabawi landfill, including the installation of tube-like collectors that will remove gas from under the landfill to be used in electricity production. [EBRD Press Release]

In Lebanon, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), in partnership with the Government of Canada, is furnishing a US$7 million loan to the leasing arm of Fransabank Group, which will on-lend to businesses that want to adopt energy efficient technology. The loan will also support high-impact renewable energy projects. [IFC Press Release]

In Senegal, the Government has signed an agreement with IFC to develop up to 200 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale solar PV power. The agreement is part of the World Bank initiative ‘Scaling Solar,’ of which Senegal is the second participant after Zambia joined in 2015. The initiative seeks to increase private investment in solar power in Africa, helping countries to procure renewable energy quickly and affordably by offering advice, project documents, risk management products, finance and insurance. [IFC Press Release]

In Seychelles, the 2016-2020 Country Strategy Paper (CSP) was approved by the AfDB Board, signaling the Bank’s plans to invest US$39 million in the country. The CSP contains two pillars, including improving energy infrastructure for inclusive, green growth. This pillar will focus in particular on the Project for Improved Power Supply on La Digue and upgrading of power stations. [AfDB Press Release]

In Tanzania, the AfDB Board approved a concessional resource assistance package valued at more than US$1.1 billion over five years as part of the 2016-2020 CSP. Together, transport and energy make up one of two pillars underpinning the CSP, with funding directed at improving access to reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity. [AfDB Press Release]

In Turkey, EBRD announced expanded support under the third stage of financing for the Mid-size Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (MidSEFF). EBRD is committing an extra €500 million for loans and capital market instruments under the now €1.5 billion Facility, which facilitates on-lending to private companies. MidSEFF supports solar, hydropower, wind, geothermal, waste-to-energy, energy efficiency, water saving and waste minimization projects. [EBRD Press Release] [Anadolu Agency Press Release]

In the UK, an EIB loan of GBP250 million is set to support upgrades to distribution infrastructure, enabling a “smarter” electricity network. The loan supports Northern Powergrid’s eight-year investment programme, which includes improving connections to 900 MW of renewable energy, such as onshore and offshore windfarms and solar power. [EIB Press Release]

Also in the UK, EIB announced GBP82 million to connect the Westernmost Rough windfarm to the national power grid. [EIB Press Release]

In Ukraine, the cities of Berdychiv, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi, Kolomyia, Komsomolsk and Sumy signed loan agreements with NEFCO for investments in energy efficiency. Among the projects planned by the cities are installation of light-emitting diode (LED) streetlights and public building retrofits. Among the renovations planned for schools and other buildings are: new ventilation systems with heat recovery, door and window replacements, thermal insulation of pipes and establishment of individual heat sub-stations. As part of NEFCO’s Facility for Energy Saving Credits, the projects can receive up to €400,000 or 90% of the investment costs in local currency. [NEFCO Press Release]

On publications, EIB created a postcard with a visual representation of its renewable energy financing in 2015. It shows onshore wind received the most support (€752 million), with offshore wind (€464 million) and grid connection projects (€434 million almost tied for second. Solar power was also not far behind (€405 million). The postcard also highlights that it was a record year for energy efficiency lending, at €3.6 billion. [EIB Climate Action in 2015 Postcard]

As part of its series focused on increasing understanding of the composition and organization of the energy sector of Latin American and Caribbean countries, IDB released an energy dossier for Trinidad and Tobago. In addition to describing total energy supply, domestic production, exports/imports and the electricity sector, the document also provides overviews of the institutional organization of the energy sector, its historical development and the evolution of energy production, trade, transformation, and consumption. According to the authors, the country’s primary energy production is almost entirely based on hydrocarbon production, though it does produce 300 barrels of petroleum-equivalent per day from combustible renewables and waste. It further notes that current energy subsidies do not incentivize efficiency. [IDB Publication Webpage] [Publication: Energy Dossier: Trinidad and Tobago]

On events, AfDB hosted the third annual Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) Africa workshop on 9-11 February 2016, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The workshop focused on tracking and advancing SE4All progress in Africa, mobilizing support for SE4All Action Agendas and Investment Prospectuses, and coordinating energy initiatives. During the workshop, AfDB’s Office of the Special Envoy on Gender organized an event on Gender, Energy and Clean Cooking Solutions. [AfDB Press Release, SE4All Workshop] [AfDB Press Release, Gender Event]

EBRD held two award ceremonies during February to honor sustainable energy projects in Slovakia and Turkey. In Slovakia, eight energy efficiency projects for municipal infrastructure were recognized, with recipients ranging from city governments to energy service and housing management companies, as well as two banks committed to financing sustainable energy projects. In Turkey, awards went to 11 companies for promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy generation. The awardees included a sugar factory, a cement producer, three wind farms, two geothermal power plants, a biomass plant and three hydropower plants. [EBRD Press Release, Slovakia] [EBRD Press Release, Turkey]

The World Bank and AfDB reported on the opening of the first phase of the Noor-Ouarzazate concentrated solar plant (CSP) in Morocco, which is the largest such project in the world. Upon completion of the remaining two phases by 2018, the plant will have over 500 MW of installed capacity. Financing for the project included over US$3 billion from AfDB, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), European financing institutions and other financing channels at the World Bank. [IISD RS Story on Ouarzazate Plant] [World Bank Press Release] [CIF Press Release] [CIF Background Brief] [AfDB Press Release]

IISD RS publishes the sustainable energy finance update monthly, focusing on announced funding for sustainable energy projects and other sustainable energy finance-related developments from international financial institutions. The updates do not generally cover bilateral flows of finance or finance from private sector sources. Climate finance news and developments outside of the sustainable energy sector are included in IISD RS’s monthly Climate Finance Update, available via the Climate Change Policy & Practice portal. [IISD RS Climate Finance Updates]