Brussels, 14/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - During his first ever visit to the country on 13 and 14 February, EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs announced €55 million of new support for Cape Verde during the period 2014 - 2020. The funding will focus specifically on the fight against poverty, sustainable and inclusive growth and good governance. Commissioner Piebalgs had meeting with President Jorge Carlos Fonseca and Prime Minister José Maria Neves during his visit, as well as other high-level ministers and representatives of civil society groups.
Renewable energy conference. At a seminar on renewable energy, the commissioner was due to announce the first deployment of the EU's Technical Assistance Facility for Sustainable Energy for All in Cape Verde; a new instrument on energy cooperation which will cover the whole of Africa. The new facility will support the Cape Verdean authorities in identifying new and innovative project proposals in the energy sector. The European Union will provide the expertise (sharing best practice and providing training, for example) required to achieve Cape Verde's ambitious energy target of providing 50% renewable energy in the electricity mix by 2020.
“Electricity prices in Cape Verde are sky high and the country has no fossil fuel resources. That's why our new Technical Facility is so important - by providing expertise and innovative solutions it will help to utilise abundant renewable resources such as wind and sun to give people on all of Cape Verde's islands reliable and cost-effective access to electricity and modern energy services through renewable energy”, said the commissioner in a press release issued on Friday 14 February.
The commissioner was due to visit the Cabeolica Wind farm project, which was the first large-scale wind project in Africa and has already achieved impressive results; increasing the share of renewable energy in the country's total production to 25 per cent in one go. The project is the first renewable energy public/private partnership in sub-Saharan Africa.
The EU provided €51 million to Cape Verde between 2008 and 2013 through the European Development Fund (EDF). As a result of the mid-term review, additional funds (€10.2 million) were also made available. (AN/transl.fl)