The international experts' community of mini-grid supporters is growing rapidly

The Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) together with the Ostbayerisches Technologie-Transfer-Institut e.V. organised an international workshop on investment opportunities and the necessary framework conditions for Clean Energy Hybrid Mini-Grids.

As a result of the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SE4ALL), the topic of energy access has come high on the agenda of many leading public and private sector organisations. Based on this strong commitment with a particular focus on rural electrification in developing countries, the Workshop aimed to better link these important players in their efforts to reduce energy internationally.

At the start of this very well attended workshop with around 65 participants from Africa, America, Australia and Europe, international and regional experts from development and financier organisations including SE4ALL, UNEP, AEEP / EUEI PDF and KfW informed about recent and upcoming initiatives and programmes of their organisations. Speakers from REN21, Frankfurt School of Finance and the German Solar Association, as well as from MicroEnergy International, complemented the picture with their presentations on the finance rationale as well as on suitable business and partnership models.

Marcus Wiemann, ARE Secretary General said "It is expected that rural electrification markets in developing countries will attract the major stake of future investments into clean energies. To allow for socio-economic acceptance of Mini-Grid technologies, which are a very appropriate tool to upscale electrification processes, it will be vital to consider the needs and competences of local actors and users."

Michael Wollny, Vice-President of ARE commented, "It was a great pleasure to see the growing interest and involvement of more players from the public and the private sector. With this positive development, there is also a growing need for coordination amongst multiple players. ARE has been committed to SE4ALL targets from the start and is therefore well positioned to act as an information exchange and business matching platform for this promising market."