Liberia might soon benefit from up to USD 50 Million to support the development and deployment of RE technologies. On January 2013, the country has been approved as the eighth SREP pilot country by the SREP sub-committee.
SREP, or Scalling-up Renewable Energy Program in Low Income Countries, is one of the programs targeted under the Strategic Climate Fund (SCF), one of the two Trust Funds (the other being the Clean Technology Fund (CTF)) under the Climate Investment Funds (CIF). The Climate Investment Funds support developing countries as they move towards climate resilient development that minimizes the output of GHG emissions. The CIF provides developing countries with grants, concessional loans, and risk mitigation instruments that leverage significant private sector, Multilateral Development Banks and other co-financing. The African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank Group (WB) are the implementing agencies of CIF funded projects and programs. In the case of Liberia, the World Bank (including the International Finance Corporation) and the AfDB are going to be the implementing agencies.
The objective of the SREP is to pilot and demonstrate the economic, social and environmental viability of low carbon development pathways in the energy sector by creating new economic opportunities and increasing energy access through the use of renewable energy. An initial group of six pilot countries was selected to receive funding under the SREP program (i.e., Kenya, Ethiopia, Mali, Nepal, Honduras, Maldives). In addition, a group of ‘waitlisted’ countries, including Liberia, was selected to receive SREP funding provided additional resources become available. In March 2012, the SREP sub-committee agreed upon the upper amount of funding and order of priority in which funding would be allocated to these countries: (1) Tanzania, $50 million; (2) Liberia, $50 million; (3) Yemen, $40 million; (4) Armenia, $40 million; (5) Pacific Regional (Vanuatu, Solomon Islands), $30 million; and (6) Mongolia, $30 million. Tanzania secured its SREP funding on July 2012, seven months before Liberia, the next watlisted country.
