P-RECs are international renewable energy certificates (I-RECs) with a supplementary label from Energy Peace Partners as the issuer certifying the co-benefits associated with the new renewable energy generation in countries that are fragile, climate vulnerable and energy poor. Since 2020, P-REC transactions have unlocked a new stream of private sector capital to support emerging renewable energy projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan.
Trading in P-RECs, the Fund is designed to unlock up front funding for high impact renewable energy projects in countries where political and economic uncertainty is constraining investment and deployment of renewable energy infrastructure, and where lack of access to electricity is hindering sustainable development.
With each credit representing one megawatt hour of renewable energy, the P-RECs monetise the environmental and social attributes of renewable energy generated in fragile, energy-poor countries. The Fund offers renewable energy developers in fragile states - where access to affordable finance remains a key challenge - a portion of construction capital upfront, helping new projects come online by de-risking them and catalysing financing from other sources.
The announcement coincides with this week’s Sustainable Energy for All Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, which aims to accelerate progress towards the delivery of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) to end energy poverty and advance a just energy transition in every corner of the world.
The Fund is designed to directly support SDG7, as well as SDG13 (climate action) and SDG16 (peace, justice and strong institutions); its $10.25 million pilot phase – being raised as a mix of first-loss grants and concessional capital - is projected to unlock $90 million in additional financing and support the deployment of 57 MW of new renewable energy capacity, providing energy access to 325,000 households as well as creating 10,000 jobs and avoiding 650,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
The Fund is initially targeting countries with high impact potential including DRC, South Sudan, Chad, Somalia and Uganda. In the future, as the P-REC market matures, the Fund will be expanded to include commercial capital and draw in other financing facilities, providing even more financial support to developers and expanding energy access in the regions where it is needed most.
“This has real potential to help raise standards of living in conflict-affected states, building a brighter future, today” said Geoff Sinclair, Managing Director, Camco Clean Energy. “We're thrilled to be partnering with Energy Peace Partners as the manager of the P-REC Aggregation Fund. EPP’s domain expertise combines well with Camco's proven track record in trading environmental instruments and renewable energy finance in emerging markets, and I look forward to achieving real impact on this fund while building the market for Peace RECs.”
Sherwin Das, Managing Director, Energy Peace Partners, added that the P-REC Aggregation Fund utilises an innovative financing instrument to increase the flow of finance for a growing portfolio of high impact renewable energy projects in fragile states in Sub-Saharan Africa and that it will send vital market signals to crowd-in other funders and resources, providing peace positive investment that contributes to achieving global goals to mitigate climate change and end energy poverty.
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