Energy - DFC

Energy | DFC

Reliable energy access drives economic growth, yet 770 million people worldwide lack access to electricity and millions more face frequent blackouts and brownouts.

DFC’s investments provide people with reliable and secure sources of energy and help end energy poverty. We support projects that expand electricity access, diversify energy sources, strengthen energy markets, and support emerging energy technologies.

DFC also invests in clean energy manufacturing to support more diverse supply chains that reduce market risk and help our partners take advantage of the investment opportunity in the clean energy transition.

Investment Stories

Building solar capacity in India

Supercharging climate-resilient growth in rural Africa and Asia

Sourcing critical minerals to support the global clean energy transition

Investing in essential infrastructure in Africa and the Middle East

Advancing the development of renewable energy projects in Indonesia

Expanding renewable energy generation and storage in Malawi

Financing Sierra Leone’s first major utility-scale power plant

Helping off-grid energy providers weather pandemic-related disruptions

Expanding renewable power generation in Kenya

Filling a financing gap for distributed renewable energy in India

Building a biomass power plant in Côte d’Ivoire

Expanding solar power in the Central African Republic

Introducing a major source of renewable energy in Senegal

Building a wind power plant to help Egypt diversify its power supply

Advancing energy security in Egypt

Adding 86 MW of power in Senegal

Bringing electricity to Chad

Tripling electricity generating capacity in Togo

Expanding access to power in Indonesia

A $425 million loan from DFC to TP Solar Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited, will finance the construction and operation of a greenfield 4GW solar cell and 4GW solar module manufacturing facility in India. This investment will support India’s ambitious program to increase renewable energy generation while advancing the global energy transition to diversify supply.

DFC participated in an equity investment in Husk Power Systems (Husk), alongside a consortium of investors, to help address this gap in low-carbon modern energy. With equity funding from DFC and additional debt, Husk plans to roll out 1,400 new mini-grids in India and Nigeria over the next five years. These mini-grids are projected to add 300,000 new connections—100,000, or one-third, of them micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)—while avoiding 350,000 tonnes of CO2. Husk will also continue to create new jobs, adding 2,500 positions as the company expands into new markets in Africa and Asia.

A DFC equity investment in TechMet Limited will support the development of a critical mineral mining facility in Piaui, Brazil that will produce nickel and cobalt suitable for lithium-ion batteries. DFC’s investment will also support the development of new technology and designs in processes that will advance more efficient and environmentally sensitive mining practices.

A DFC loan is helping The Urban Resilience Fund (TURF), a blended finance investment fund managed by Meridiam Group, invest in infrastructure projects that address the critical needs of urban population growth in Africa and Jordan.

DFC has committed to providing technical assistance funding to Hydrogène De France (HDF) to support the development of a portfolio of green hydrogen projects in Indonesia that would create economic opportunities for surrounding communities, reduce emissions, and increase energy security.

DFC financing is supporting a 20 MW solar photovoltaic power plant and battery energy storage system developed by Golomoti JCM Solar Corporation Limited. As the first utility-scale plant in the region to use a battery storage system, the project is generating energy to the national grid for use by homes and businesses. Its capacity to store up to 10MW of energy will help reduce the country’s frequent blackouts.

DFC has committed to provide financing to support the development of an 83.5 MW combined cycle thermal power plant, which will initially be fueled by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) before converting to liquefied natural gas (LNG), a cleaner and more energy-efficient fuel.

DFC financing is supporting the Energy Access Relief Fund, which is providing low-cost loans to viable off-grid energy providers that serve low-income communities across 50 countries in Africa and Asia but are facing liquidity challenges due to COVID. Energy Access Relief Fund is a collaboration of development institutions, donors, and impact investors including the Dutch development agency FMO, the U.K. development agency CDC Group, as well as the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Shell Foundation. The fund plans to deploy up to $100 million of financing to small and medium businesses providing a variety of off-grid energy solutions including solar home systems, clean cookstoves, and solar-powered irrigation.

Photo Credit: Kipeto Energy Plc

DFC provided financing and reinsurance to support construction of the 100 MW Kipeto Wind Power Project, along with a 15-mile transmission line to connect to the national grid. The 100 MW plant, which began operations in January 2021, is the second-largest wind power project in Kenya and has the capacity to supply power to approximately 250,000 households, based on current energy use for typical families. Located in the Rift Valley about 70 miles south of Nairobi, the project is also situated to feed into Nairobi’s industrial hubs.

A loan guaranty from USAID and DFC will mobilize up to $41.7 million for loans to micro, small and medium enterprises in India that are investing in or providing distributed renewable energy products such as rooftop solar, mini-grids, solar pumps, and other energy efficiency solutions. Because small and medium-sized enterprises in India account for almost half of all the energy consumed in the country’s industrial sector, the project has the potential to significantly expand access to reliable sources of clean and affordable power, while also reducing emissions.

Political risk insurance is supporting a project to build, finance, operate, and maintain for 25 years a 46 MW biomass power plant along with a substation and a 350-meter transmission line connecting to the electricity grid. The plant, which will generate power from palm tree leaves and trunks, will be the country’s first large scale biomass plant feeding into the grid and the largest power plant fueled by agricultural waste in West Africa.

Photo Credit: SunFunder

DFC provided financing and political risk insurance to SunFunder’s Solar Energy Transformation Fund, which will be supporting a loan to finance the modernization and conversion of diesel-fueled telecommunications towers across the Central African Republic to run on solar power.

Photo Credit: Lekela

Financing and political risk insurance supported construction of a 158 MW power plant about 50 miles northeast of Dakar. The Taiba N’Diaye plant, the largest wind power plant in West Africa, began operations in February 2020, generating about 15 percent of Senegal’s total installed generating capacity and helping about two million people gain access to power for the first time.

Photo Credit: Lekela

Financing is supporting the development of a 252 MW wind farm near the Gulf of Suez. The plant, which is expected to increase the country’s wind generating capacity by 18 percent and lower the overall cost of power in the country. The plant is also expected to avoid 550,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually.

Political risk insurance is supporting a project by Houston, Texas-based Noble Energy to rehabilitate a natural gas pipeline and transport natural gas from the Leviathan and Tamar offshore fields in Israel to customers in Egypt.

Financing and political risk insurance supported ContourGlobal’s construction of the 86 MW Cap des Biches thermal power plant outside of Dakar, increasing the country’s energy supply. The combined-cycle plant was designed to run on heavy fuel oil or natural gas, when supply is available, and was built on the site of an existing diesel power plant in order to achieve cost efficiencies. Under the terms of the project, the country’s state-owned utility Senelec, entered a power purchase agreement with ContourGlobal.

A $10 million loan will help FinLux Ellen Sarl distribute solar kits and appliances to individuals, schools, health clinics and small businesses in Chad, providing a reliable source of power to communities not connected to an electricity grid. FinLux solar equipment is based on a battery produced in the United States, and adapted for use in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. Because women comprise more than half the company’s workforce, the project also promotes women’s economic empowerment.

Financing and political risk insurance to ContourGlobal supported construction of the 100 MW Lomé Thermal power plant, a tri-fuel plant designed to run on a variety of fuels including natural gas.

Financing supported construction of Indonesia’s first utility scale wind power plant consisting of 30 wind turbines and a three kilometer transmission line that connects to the grid. The new plant has added 75 MW of renewable power, and expanded the country’s capacity to generate clean energy.