Sep 23, 2019
WASHINGTON – Today, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) welcomes a £200 million ($250 million) commitment from the United Kingdom to a newly established CIF program aimed at delivering breakthrough energy storage solutions at scale in developing countries.
Announced by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the UK contribution to the CIF Global Energy Storage Program (GESP) will support a significant scale-up of CIF’s existing storage portfolio.
“If we want to get serious about meeting global climate goals, then over two-thirds of our power mix must transition to renewables by 2050. Storage solutions are set to bring us closer to this target,” said Mafalda Duarte, head of CIF. “But more investments are needed to expand a nascent industry still burdened by perceived risks. This program will provide a vital investment platform to help kickstart markets in developing countries working to meet their ambitious clean energy and emissions commitments."
GESP is the world's largest multilateral investment program for scaling up energy storage systems in developing countries. With the capital envisaged, the initiative seeks to triple energy storage capacity in developing countries, mobilizing up to $8 in partner financing for every dollar invested in energy management systems, policy enhancements, technical assistance, and knowledge sharing. This financing is expected to support approximately 17.5 gigawatt hours (GWh) of new energy storage capacity by 2025 and broaden energy access for 6.5 million people.
Energy storage technologies are among the most promising tools available to expand integration of renewables with the speed, scale, and efficiency that the climate crisis demands. Amid falling clean technology costs and increasingly favorable regulatory conditions, renewable energy is on the rise but faces a number of barriers, such as intermittency, operational and maintenance deficiencies and insufficient storage durations. Energy storage technologies help overcome these gaps to generate round-the-clock clean power and narrow the global energy access gap.
What’s more, many energy storage systems can be deployed rapidly with minimal lead time, offering a clear pathway for developing countries seeking to meet ambitious renewable energy and energy access targets while promoting low-carbon growth.
To learn more about CIF’s energy storage programming, see our factsheet:
The Climate Investment Funds Global Energy Storage Program
About CIF
Marking more than ten years of climate action, the $8.3 billion Climate Investment Funds is the largest multilateral climate financing instrument in the world. CIF provides developing countries financing for climate-resilient and low-carbon development. These grants, concessional loans, risk mitigation instruments, and equity leverage significant financing from the private sector, multilateral development banks (MDBs), and other sources. Five MDBs—the African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and World Bank Group (WBG)—implement CIF-funded projects and programs.
Media contact
Scott Vincent Andrews
E: sandrews3@worldbank.org
T: +1 (202) 458-9562
