BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 8. Over the past decade, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) invested and mobilized more than $32 billion in the energy sector, helping to accelerate the clean energy transition and increasing access to electricity for millions of people around the globe through on- and off-grid solutions, Cheryl Edleson Hanway, IFC’s Regional Senior Manager for Infrastructure and Natural Resources said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
“In fiscal year 2023 (which ended on June 30, 2023) 73 percent of IFC’s energy investments worldwide supported climate activities and decarbonization. At the end of the fiscal year, our committed power portfolio globally amounted to $5.7 billion, with half of that attributable to renewable energy projects.
IFC has financed over 22 gigawatts of affordable clean energy capacity in emerging economies to date. This brings electricity to over 100 million people each year, including 15 million in fragile states. In addition, we finance investments in transmission and distribution infrastructure, supporting electrical network resilience, digitization, and further renewable energy integration,” she said.
Hanway pointed out that these investments are helping to address global climate challenges, accelerate social and gender inclusion, and boost access to reliable and affordable low-cost renewable energy.
She gave some recent project examples:
Neoenergia Elektro (fiscal year 2023): IFC provided a green, sustainability-linked loan of BRL 800 million ($155 million equivalent) to Iberdrola’s Brazilian affiliate, Neoenergia Elektro, to support network improvements and new connections in the States of Sao Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul. The loan includes two corporate sustainability targets: to increase network digitalization and the number of female electricians. The project will help improve network efficiency as well as climate adaptation by reducing downtime caused by extreme climatic events.
Karavasta Solar (fiscal year 2023): IFC provided a €41 million financing package to support Albania’s 140-megawatt Karavasta Solar project, the country’s first large scale solar photovoltaic power plant, developed by Voltalia. Albania depends on hydropower for its domestic power generation and the project will help secure electricity supply against erratic rainfall, which can impact hydropower production. Once operational, the plant is expected to generate over 265 GWh of clean electricity each year, with GHG emission reductions of about 96,500 tons of CO2 equivalent.
Abydos Solar and Amunet Wind (fiscal year 2023): IFC and partners provided a $1.1 billion financing package to support the construction and operation of twin solar and wind power plants in Egypt—the largest of their kind in the country. When complete, the plants will have more than 1 gigawatt in combined renewable energy capacity and deliver power at the lowest prices in Africa. The developer is UAE-based AMEA Power, with Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation as co-sponsor and investor, in the wind farm. The projects will reduce the country’s carbon footprint by 1.7 million tons of GHGs a year.
Zarafshon Wind (fiscal year 2023): IFC led a $94 million financing package for the 500-megawatt Zarafshon wind project in Uzbekistan—the country’s first wind farm. Once operational, it will be among Central Asia’s largest wind farms, expected to power 500,000 homes while preventing the release of more than 1 million tons of CO2 per year. Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) is the project developer.
Azerbaijan Offshore Wind Roadmap (fiscal year 2022): IFC, the World Bank, and Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Energy released a roadmap showing Azerbaijan has the potential to install 7 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2040, supporting the country's decarbonization and sustainable growth. This is one of a series of offshore wind roadmap studies commissioned by the World Bank Group under the joint Energy Sector Management Assistance Program-IFC Offshore Wind Development Program.
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