Africa REN secures financing for Walo Storage project in West Africa
Africa REN, a renewables project developer in West Africa, announced the successful financing of its Walo Storage project in Senegal. The Dutch development bank FMO and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), acting through its fund manager Ninety One, will invest up to a total of €32 million in syndicated debt into Walo Storage.
The €32 million financing comprises:
– An €11 million loan from FMO, and an additional €8 million loan provided by the Access to Energy Fund, one of the funds FMO manages on behalf of the Dutch government with the aim to create sustainable access to energy in developing countries.
– An €11 million loan from EAIF, a Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) company, and a $1.5 million (equivalent in EUR) of a Viability Gap Funding (VGF) extended by PIDG Technical Assistance.
Walo Storage is the first battery storage project in West Africa dedicated to frequency regulation. In a country challenged by grid constraints due to limited spinning reserves and the ongoing integration of intermittent energy, the Walo Storage project will bring much-needed stability to the local grid and reduce power outages.