( AfDB ) - The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) has extended a $1 million grant to help accelerate African countries’ transition to flexible green grids and other clean power solutions ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, scheduled to be held later this year.

The technical assistance grant, sourced through a SEFA Rapid Response Facility, will enable up to five African countries participating in a COP26 Energy Transition Council process to assess potential gaps in policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks; develop approaches to increase the contribution of grid-connected renewable energy generation; as well as identify financing mechanisms.

Dr. Kevin Kariuki, Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth at the African Development Bank said: “The SEFA RRF will buttress the groundwork for accelerating the deployment of renewable energy in selected African countries, thereby complementing the Bank’s efforts towards a just energy transition for the continent.”

The SEFA Rapid Response Facility, part of COP26 Energy Transition Council efforts, is designed to be flexible and responsive to the energy-transition requirements of participating Governments.

Dr. Daniel Schroth, Acting Director, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Department at the Bank added that “the SEFA RRF also serves to prepare the ground for subsequent investments in renewable energy projects by the Bank and SEFA, under its Green Baseload component.”  

The United Kingdom established the COP26 Energy Transition Council in September 2020 to drive the shift to clean energy ahead of COP26. Members include multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, technical cooperation organizations and donor Governments.

A Special Fund managed by the African Development Bank, SEFA provides catalytic finance for renewable energy. The overarching goal is to contribute to universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy services for all in Africa, in line with the Bank’s New Deal on Energy for Africa and United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7.