United Arab Emirates has launched ‘Etihad 7’, a program aimed at financing renewable energy projects, as well as providing access to electricity to a target 100million households in the sub-Saharan Africans this decade.
Furthermore, ‘Etihad 7’ is intended to support electrification efforts and, above all, to accompany Africa’s transition to a low-carbon electricity sector. The program will run until 2035.
United Arab Emirates officials say the program verily positions the emirate given opportunity as host country to COP 28 in 2023.
“With Etihad 7, the UAE is consolidating its efforts in support of Africa in the context of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). In line with the UAE’s foreign policy and development goals, the program facilitates sustainable development by addressing key challenges that hinder access to clean and affordable energy in emerging markets,” said UAE minister of state, minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan Al Nahyan.
Afrik21 news channel said the launch of this program comes at a time when Africa is struggling to mobilize enough funding for electrification. Currently, 570 million Africans still do not have access to electricity according to the Renewable Energy Market Analysis report published a few days ago by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
It is not Abu Dhabi’s first initiative in favour of renewable energy in Africa. There is the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), which has participated in the financing of the 50mwp Blitta Solar Power Plant built under a public-private partnership by the UAE’s independent power producer (IPP) Amea Power.
The fund has also committed to support a project to build several 500 MWp solar photovoltaic power plants in Sudan.
Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja
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