New Green Mini-Grid Help Desk for Developers and Policymakers unveiled at the SE for All Forum

An expanded and improved version of the online portal greenminigrid.se4all-africa.org for renewable energy mini-grid project developers, policymakers and regulators in sub-Saharan Africa was launched on May 2, 2018 at the Sustainable Energy for All Forum in Lisbon.

Funded by the DFID-backed, AfDB-hosted Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) Africa Hub and developed by Energy 4 Impact in partnership with INENSUS, the upgraded Green Mini-Grid (GMG) Help Desk features additional knowledge products, an improved search functionality, country-specific pages and a new Policymakers’ Help Desk. The new Help Desk provides tailored advice to local GMG policymakers and regulators in Africa to create an attractive political, legal and regulatory environment for the scale-up of GMGs in African countries.

Since it was first launched in 2017, the GMG Help Desk has been an important resource for over 6,600 users seeking online technical assistance on the myriad of activities important to the business cycle of developing and operating clean energy mini-grids.

The Developers’ Help Desk is packed with knowledge products and tutorials on setting up a mini-grid business, site selection, legal and compliance issues, mini-grid business models, technical system design, community and stakeholder engagement, financing, procurement, installation and commissioning, operation and maintenance.

The Policymakers’ Help Desk provides valuable information and knowledge articles on energy policy and regulations, mini-grid licensing and concessions, technical, environmental and quality of service regulations, financial support schemes and fiscal policy and regulations.

Over 60 GMG developers who applied for support through the portal have so far received bespoke assistance on their projects.

A Francophone version of the website is currently under development and should be ready in the summer.