Source: Access Power |

Access Power launches 2017 Access Co-Development Facility (ACF) competition with the Support of Power Africa

Submission window opens as African renewable energy projects compete for a share of US$7million

Power Africa is a U.S. government-led initiative coordinating 12 U.S. government agencies and a diverse coalition of more than 140 public and private sector partners

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America, March 8, 2017/APO/ --

Access Power (www.Access-Power.com), a developer, owner and operator of power projects in emerging markets and a Power Africa partner, today announced the launch of ACF 2017, the third edition of the highly successful funding and support platform for renewable energy projects in Africa. The official opening of the submissions process was announced today at the Power Africa Annual Partners Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Now in its third year, the ACF is an innovative US$7 million financial support mechanism designed to provide local power project developers and originators with project development support, technical experience, expertise and funding required to bring their renewable energy projects to life.

ACF 2017 aims to further build on the success of the previous two years where a total of five projects passed the final round of selection and three projects successfully executed joint development agreements with Access Power. This year’s finalists will once again be evaluated and scored by an independent panel of industry experts comprised of senior representatives from Power Africa, InfraCo Africa, Proparco, the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) and Access Power who will provide Access Power with recommendations on the commercial, technical, social and environmental viability of each project based on a host of market, regulatory, environmental and economic factors.

The winners of ACF 2017 will be announced during a live final evaluation panel on June 7th 2017 during the Africa Energy Forum in Copenhagen. The top three finalists will subsequently enter into direct Joint Development Agreement (JDA) discussions with Access Power. Once these are successfully concluded, Access Power will take an equity stake in those projects and commence independently funding their third-party development costs such as feasibility studies, grid studies, environmental and social impact assessments and due diligence fees

Reda El Chaar, Executive Chairman, Access Power commented, “As a Power Africa partner ACF will draw on a wider communication platform – enabling us to reach a bigger network of innovative and pioneering entrepreneurs across Africa with the opportunity to develop their ambitious ideas into tangible projects.”

“Last year was another highly successful year for the competition as we received nearly 100 submissions from over 25 countries across the full spectrum of renewable technologies, a 75 percent increase on the previous edition. This is a chance to shine a spotlight on ideas and showcase talent. We are delighted to see the competition develop as word spreads about the possibilities it can bring.”

Power Africa is a U.S. government-led initiative coordinating 12 U.S. government agencies and a diverse coalition of more than 140 public and private sector partners, including bilateral and multilateral development partners.

Power Africa Coordinator Andrew Herscowitz stated, “The ACF is an exciting concept, and we are delighted to see Access Power’s efforts to transform power delivery and access across Africa. The ACF demonstrates how Power Africa’s private sector partners are working to help accelerate progress towards our shared goals of increasing new electricity generation capacity and increasing household and business connections in Sub-Saharan Africa.” 

The ACF 2017 application form and guidelines are available on Access Power website www.Access-Power.com.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Access Power.

Notes to Editors:
ACF 2017

The ACF 2017 is a financial support mechanism designed to provide local developers and entrepreneurs with the technical expertise and funding required to bring their renewable energy projects to life. 

  • - Applications for the ACF 2017 will open in March 2017.
  • - The submission period runs from March to May, 2017.
  • - An independent judging panel will include industry and legal experts as well as representatives from multilateral development banks.
  • - Following a pre-selection process, a shortlist of applicants will be chosen to present their projects to a panel of judges at the Africa Energy Forum in Copenhagen, June 2017 (http://Africa-Energy-Forum.com).
  • - Applicants must present their projects to the judging panel during the Forum within a given time and take questions from panel members.
  • - Panel members will score each project based on the evaluation criteria, using weighted percentages.
  • - The winners will enter a Joint Development Agreement with Access Power, which will take an equity stake in the winning projects and fund third-party development costs such as feasibility studies, grid studies, environmental and social impact assessments and due diligence fees. Access Power will also provide technical support, financial structure and development process management.

For more information, please contact:
Ana Parker
AParker@Access-Power.com
+971 4 453 9508

Francesca Boothby or Emerson Clarke
AccessPower@FTIConsulting.com
+44(0)203 727 1885

About Access Power:
Access Power ‘Access’ (www.Access-Power.com) is a developer, owner and operator of power plants in emerging and frontier markets. Access today is one of the fastest growing independent power producers in emerging markets and is currently developing renewable energy projects worth over US$1 billion in 23 countries across Africa and Asia, including Egypt, Mali, Nigeria, Zambia and Malawi. In late 2016, Access commissioned East Africa’s largest solar power plant, in Soroti, Uganda. That facility is today providing clean energy for 40,000 homes, schools and small businesses. Our development team has a depth of experience in developing and building large portfolios of renewable energy projects, with a collective track record of financially closing 30 GW of power projects across the globe. For more information: www.Access-Power.com. Follow at @AccessPowerMEA.

About Power Africa:
Power Africa (www.USAID.gov/powerafrica/roadmap) is a unique, private sector-driven effort that brings together over 140 private sector companies, many U.S. Government agencies, global development partners (e.g., the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank), and African governments that are committed to accelerating and stimulating further power sector investment. Power Africa aims to add more than 30,000 megawatts of cleaner, more efficient electricity generation capacity, as well as increase electricity access by adding 60 million new home and business connections throughout all of sub-Saharan Africa.

To learn more about Power Africa and the Roadmap to meet these ambitious goals, please visit: www.USAID.gov/powerafrica/roadmap.