A boost for private renewable energy markets in the Mediterranean region
Private renewable energy markets in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia will be boosted through a joint development programme. The SEMED Private Renewable Energy Framework (SPREF), a €227.5 million financing framework supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), was presented during the EU Energy Day at the COP22. During the launch ceremony the EBRD Director of Power and Energy Utilities, Nandita Parshard, said: “The EBRD has placed a priority on climate finance in the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region, where we have invested in 44 green projects worth over €1 billion since 2012. Green investments account for roughly one-third of the EBRD’s total investments in the region, and we hope that will continue to grow.”
The programme will help the region reduce its heavy dependence on imports of hydrocarbons by promoting the deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in the generation, transmission, distribution and end-use of energy. It aims to mobilise additional investment of up to €834 million from other parties, including the Climate Investment Funds’ Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Financing will be accompanied by targeted technical cooperation support for the implementation of renewable energy projects in the region which aim to avoid 780,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. The UfM Secretary General, Fathallah Sijilmassi, stressed the importance of these intiatives to achieve deeper regional cooperation and economic integration incorporating a climate dimension.
The platform will also support energy efficient economies and mitigation and adaptation to climate change in Europe and the Mediterranean region. The SPREF falls under the umbrella of the UfM Regional Dialogue Platform on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.The first project under the programme is the 120 MW Khalladi windfarm near Tangiers, in Morocco, one of the first private renewable energy projects in the country.