The World Bank’s Clean Technology Fund plans to invest $85-million in renewable energy and co-generation projects in South Africa, according to an advertisement in the Business Day newspaper on Friday.
The fund said it had $50-million available for wind and solar renewable energy projects and $35-million for co-generation, where waste energy and gases are used to produce power.
The $85-million was part of a total $150-million allocated for investment in South Africa, with the remainder being managed by the African Development Bank.
South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom has said it will conduct more research in clean technology as it seeks a new World Bank loan to finance renewable energy power projects.
The World Bank in April approved a controversial $3,75-billion Eskom loan to develop a coal-fired power plant in South Africa despite the lack of support from the country’s key Western allies.
