Supported by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the main objective of the African Energy Policy Research Network (AFREPREN/ FWD) Cogen for Africa project was the promotion of cleaner energy options and cleaner energy investments through grant-based finance provided by the UNEP, the AfDB and the GEF.

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The AFREPREN/FWD Cogen for Africa project was a regional initiative aimed at supporting small, medium and large-scale industries in Africa to develop their cogeneration potential. The Cogen for Africa Project was based on the successful model of Mauritius that met about 50% of its power from its cogeneration plants.

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The Cogen for Africa project has the principal target of installing over 40MWe+th of Cogen capacity in the region with the successful commissioning of the new Kakira sugar Cogen plant and other initiatives in the region. With the remaining funds, the Cogen project would like to promote smaller scale Cogen development in various sectors with special emphasis focused (but not exclusively) on agro/forest industrial sectors. In this regard, a call for applications for grants from the Cogen project to finance feasibilities studies on cogeneration was circulated to a wide range of agro/forest industries in eastern and southern Africa.

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The Cogen project received applications for feasibility study grants from several small and medium-scale agro-industries interested in pursuing clean energy development in their operations primarily using biomass/biogas/cogeneration and, with some industries interested in incorporating some element of solar power.

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DEM provided the following services:

A review of the applications from the eight (8) small and medium-scale agro-industries from 4 countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi and Uganda) confirming their eligibility vis a vis criteria set by the Cogen Project Document and Project Steering Committee.

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An assessment of the extent to which the proposed experts/consultancy firms selected to undertake the feasibility/engineering studies had the required expertise and experience to ensure the preparation of sound feasibility/engineering studies and that the selection process was competitive and met the expected standards of transparency.

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An examination of the rationale for the grant application and assessment of whether the requested grant amount was reasonable. In cases where the applicants had provided co-finance (in cash and in-kind), it was assessed if the amount was reasonable and if the applicants was be able to provide the required back-up documentation.

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Based on the limited documentation that was available, background web/documentation searches and field visits, provided an initial guess-estimate of the viability of the proposed cogeneration/clean energy investments as well as the applicants’ technical and financial capability to pursue the proposed investments all the way to successful commissioning and operation.

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An assessment of the extent to which there was a realistic opportunity for involvement of the African Development Bank (one of the co-implementers the Cogen Project) in the financing of the proposed cogeneration/clean energy investment.