New EU support for renewable energy and governance in Cape Verde
During his first ever visit to the country 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 areas of the fight against poverty, sustainable and inclusive growth and good governance.
The Commissioner will take part in a seminar on renewable energy, during which he will announce a new instrument on energy cooperation which will cover the whole of Africa.
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. Commissioner Piebalgs said: “Energy in Cape Verde is crucial, for education and healthcare, for growth, tourism and even for the supply of water. In short, renewable energy is the country’s main route towards growth and development."
The Commissioner will visit the Cabeolica Wind farm project, which was the first large-scale wind project in Africa and has already achieved impressive results; increasing the country’s share of renewable energy to 25 per cent in one go.
