Energy : USADF launches off-grid infrastructure project for African communities

The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) has launched a request for proposals to deliver off-grid energy infrastructure in Africa, with applicants set to receive up to US$250,000 to develop their projects.

The initiative, the USADF Off-Grid Energy Challenge, will be co-ordinated by the US government agency, and award grant capital funding to projects that are majority African-owned and -managed, and deliver electricity generation and distribution to what the USADF calls “unserved and underserved African communities”.

Crucially, the projects must be financially viable, with the USADF requiring applications to be “sustainable business model solutions,” and take advantage of clean energy. However, the USADF’s definition of clean energy is very broad, encompassing traditional forms of renewable power, including solar and wind, alongside biomass, biogas and gas.

The inclusion of gas power in particular suggests that the emphasis of the initiative is on delivering reliable electricity infrastructure, rather than power that is necessarily carbon-neutral.