• EU-funded SOGREA aims to attract private clean energy investment

• Initiative supports goal to reach 78% electricity access by 2030

Sierra Leone has opened an investment window under the Salone Off-Grid Renewable Energy Acceleration (SOGREA) initiative to spur private financing for green mini-grids across the country, especially in rural areas. The announcement was made on Oct. 21.

The facility, worth about 22 million euros (approximately $23.2 million), is financed by the European Union and implemented by the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and its host entity Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), in partnership with the Sierra Leonean government.

The mechanism aims to help finance, develop, and operate mini-grids through milestone-based payments released upon equipment delivery, commissioning, or certification. It subsidizes part of the investment costs to lower tariffs for households and attract private capital to the emerging sector.

The SOGREA launch follows a series of clean energy initiatives by Sierra Leone. In October 2025, Release by Scatec signed a lease deal for a 40 MWp solar plant in Kamakwie, expected to produce about 70,000 MWh annually and avoid nearly 47,000 tons of CO₂. Earlier, in March 2025, Climate Fund Managers and Infinitum Energy Group launched a 30 MW waste-to-energy project in Freetown, backed by $3.1 million from the Climate Investor Two fund.

These efforts align with Sierra Leone’s National Energy Compact, released in September 2025, which aims to raise electricity access from 36% to 78% by 2030 and boost the renewable energy share from 46% to 52%. The plan targets 720,000 new connections by 2030, 560,000 of them off-grid via solar home systems and mini-grids, highlighting the SOGREA facility’s key role in the national electrification strategy.

Abdoullah Diop