Energy and the World Bank: The Facts

1. Renewable energy & energy efficiency: a clear choice

The World Bank has made a clear choice in favor of supporting developing and emerging market countries in investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency. We finance a growing number of projects in renewable energy—including solar (both concentrating solar thermal power, and photovoltaic systems), wind, geothermal, biogas and ocean currents—and energy efficiency.
The Bank Group’s renewable energy [6] financing reached $3 billion in 2011, more than triple the $840 million approved in 2007.
IFC has grown its clean energy investments at an average of 51% per year over the last four years to reach US$1,036 million in FY2009.

2. We provide analytical guidance to a sustainable energy path.

Through our staff and trust funds such as the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program [7], the World Bank Group provides advice, tools and capacity-building services to governments to scale up their efforts to put their countries on a sustainable energy path. These include action-oriented studies to guide policymakers, planning climate-resilient energy systems and managing concentrating solar power projects.
Low carbon growth studies [8] have provided knowledge of the incremental costs and benefits of development programs with lower GHG emissions. Studies have been done for Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, Indonesia and Poland. They are directly contributing to the development of a series of practical tools for future low carbon development planning.

3. Our projects show a range of work on renewable energy across the world.

Indonesia. The Bank has approved a Geothermal Clean Energy Investment Project [9] to help Indonesia meet its growing energy needs in a clean and climate-friendly way. The Bank’s $175-million support will help Pertamina Geothermal Energy boost power generation capacity by up to 150 megawatts in geothermal fields in Ulubelu, South Sumatra and Lahendong, North Sulawesi. This will displace an equivalent capacity of coal-based power generation.
Poland. The Bank’s support for a $1.1 billion Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Development Policy Loan [10] is helping Poland reduce projected “business-as-usual” energy consumption by 20 percent and raise the share of renewable energy in final energy consumption to 15 percent by 2020, meeting the country’s 20-percent greenhouse gas emissions reduction commitment to the European Union.
India. The Bank approved a $648 million loan to support construction of the Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Plant [11] on the River Alaknanda, expected to generate 1,665 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year and meet peak spurts in demand from households and industries. The 444 megawatt project will also help reduce India’s greenhouse gas emissions by 1.6 million tons each year.

4. The World Bank has a special focus on Africa because of its energy access gap and the untapped potential of its resources.

Africa’s economically feasible hydropower potential at 45 gigawatts (GW) is nearly one-tenth of the world’s total. Less than 10% of this potential is being used at present. The geothermal potential in the Rift Valley, which covers 10 countries from Ethiopia to Mozambique, can provide more than 15 gigawatts, enough to provide electricity for 150 million households.
The World Bank has approved major financing for Morocco, to build the the Ouarzazate [wa-za-zat] concentrated solar power project [12]. This aims to produce 500 megawatts of electricity that will provide power and jobs for Moroccans and produce long-term revenue by exporting clean energy to Europe.
In South Africa, the World Bank and the Clean Technology Fund [13], recently approved a $250 million low interest loan for establishing concentrated solar power and wind farm projects in Upington and Sere with a capacity of 100 megawatts each.
Lighting Africa [14], a joint IFC and World Bank program, is helping several African countries to establish a market of low-cost, off-grid lighting products. 300,000 solar portable lamps tested and marketed with Lighting Africa support have been sold in Africa since 2010, bringing light to over 1.5 million people.

5. We help reduce gas flaring worldwide

Through the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership [15], which the Bank manages, gas flaring decreased by 22% from 172 billion cubic meters (bcm) to 134 bcm. That is equivalent to 30 million tons of C02 emissions, or like taking almost six million cars off the road.