Climate Investment Funds (CIF)- Scaling up Renewable Energy in Low Income Countries Program (SREP)

Climate Objective
Adaptation
Mitigation
Cross-cutting
Sectors and Themes
Energy
Gender
Type of Support Provider
Multilateral
Type of Recipient
Public entity at the national level
Public entity at the sub-national level
Public entity at the regional level
Private sector
Fund Size

USD 720 million

Co-financing Requirement
Yes
Application Timeframe

Investment Plan preparation, submission and approval may take up to 2 years.

Project preparation, submission and approval by the SREP sub-committee maximum 2 years.

Trustee or Administrator
World Bank
Contact Information
Region
East Asia and Pacific
Europe and Central Asia
Middle East and North Africa
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa

The Scaling up Renewable Energy in Low Income Countries Program (SREP) is one of three targeted programs that make up the Strategic Climate Fund (SCF) of the Climate Investment Funds (CIFs).

SREP empowers transformation in developing countries by demonstrating the economic, social and environmental viability of renewable energy. Channeled through five multilateral development banks (MDBs), SREP financing supports scaled-up deployment of renewable energy solutions to increase energy access and economic opportunities, with a focus on low-income countries. SREP also contains dedicated Private Sector Set Asides (PSSAs), which allow concessional financing to projects that engage the private sector.

It has five objectives:

  1. Assist low income countries foster transformational change to low carbon pathways by exploiting renewable energy potential;
  2. Highlight economic, social and environmental co-benefits of renewable energy programs;
  3. Help scale up private sector investments to achieve SREP objectives;
  4. Enable blended financing from multiple sources to enable scaling up of renewable energy programs; and
  5. Facilitate knowledge sharing and exchange of international experience and lessons
Support Provider

14 donor countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, US

Purpose of Support
Project and program implementation
Co-financing Requirement Details

SREP investments should leverage additional financial resources, including from the private sector where feasible. Co-financing from the SREP may be provided through a variety of financing instruments utilized by the MDBs for investment and development policy lending.

Funding Type
Grants
Loans (concessional and market-rate)
Other
Monitoring and Reporting Procedures

The CIF monitors and reports on the SREP contribution to increasing both the supply of renewable energy produced and the number of people with access to clean energy, as well level of public and private investments leveraged in targeted sub-sections. Projects also report on other co-benefits, such as , gender impact, or greenhouse gas emissions avoided. Implementing MDBs annually collect, aggregate, and report data on these indicators for all SREP projects. The CIF Administrative Unit collects and aggregates all data and prepares an annual results report (SREP Operational and Results Report) to inform the SREP Sub-committee.

Organizational and Decision Making Structure

SREP is a sub-program of SCF and is subject to SCF governance. The governance and organizational structure of the SCF includes an SCF Trust Fund Committee, SCF Sub-Committee(s), a Partnership Forum, an MDB Committee, an Administrative Unit and a Trustee.

  • The SCF Trust Fund Committee is established to oversee the operations and activities of the SCF. It is composed of eight representatives from contributor countries, eight representatives from eligible recipient countries, a senior representative of the World Bank, and a representative of the MDBs (rotating).
  • The SCF Sub-Committee(s) are responsible for approving programming priorities, operational criteria, and financing modalities for the SCF Program. They also approve SCF Program financing for programs and projects. Decisions are reached by consensus. Each SCF Sub-Committee is composed of up to six representatives from donor countries and six representatives from eligible countries, selected on a regional basis.
  • The Partnership Forum is a broad-based meeting of stakeholders of the CIF and provides an opportunity for independent scientific, technical, and other advice on implementation issues.
  • The MDB Committee facilitates collaboration, coordination and information exchange among the MDBs.
  • The Administrative Unit supports the work of the CIF, including the SCF.
  • The Trustee is the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank).

 

Eligible Countries

Recipient countries may benefit from the SREP provided they:

  • Meet Official Development Assistance (ODA) eligibility criteria according to OECD/DAC guidelines;
  • Have an active MDB country program (for this purpose, an “active” program means that an MDB has a lending program and/or on-going policy dialogue with the country).
  • Are World Bank IDA-only countries or the equivalent of Regional Development Banks.

Twenty-seven (27) countries have been selected for the implementation of pilots (full list available here).

Information on how to
Understand steps to access

All CIF funds have been fully committed. Information on CIF Beneficiary Countries can be found here.