- Portugal’s diversified electricity producer, EDP, through A2E Fund (Access to Energy), will support seven solar energy projects in five African countries, including Angola and Mozambique, with funding of 500,000 euros, the company announced yesterday.
Solar energy is a common element in the seven projects that EDP, through the A2E (Access to Energy) Fund, will support in five countries in Africa: Angola, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda and Malawi. From refrigeration systems for fish and fruit in local markets to the electrification of schools and health centers, or the supply of technologies that make it possible to desalinate water, all projects are based on the same renewable energy source: the sun.
The proposals selected in this third edition of the fund – from a total of 115 applications – now have a global funding of half a million euros, with which EDP intends to promote access to clean energy in remote and deprived regions, and thus helping to fight energy poverty in these territories. As in previous editions, the A2E Fund invests in initiatives in five priority areas – education, health, agriculture, companies and community – and values assessment criteria such as social impact, partnerships, sustainability, potential for expansion and financial viability.
Mozambique and Nigeria are the countries with the most projects in this edition, two each. In the first case, the projects to be funded are by the Luwire Wildlife Conservancy, which involves the creation of a solar system to power basic services for the local population and the irrigation of agricultural fields, and Viva con Agua by Sankt Pauli, which intends to give access to drinking water through desalination technology. In the case of Nigeria, both proposals involve refrigeration systems: Koolboks wants to install them in eight markets for fish sellers in the Lagos area and ColdHubs plans to create them to support a community of women farmers.
OffGridBox is the project that will be funded in Rwanda and aims to provide energy and clean water to six refugee camps. ADDP Angola wants to abandon diesel generators, replacing them with a renewable energy system to supply schools. Finally, the DAAP Malawiproject is directly aimed at supplying a vocational school with electricity from a solar platform.
With this initiative, EDP reinforces its commitment to the sustainability of the planet, renewable energies and the need to fight poverty and lack of electric energy that still affect the lives of millions of people, especially in remote and poor rural communities in developing countries.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
