NAMA Facility donors approve funding for Tunisian NAMA designed by Guidehouse

NAMA Facility Donors – the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety; the European Union and the Danish Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate – recently approved funding for the Tunisian NAMA on scaling-up renewable energy and energy efficiency in the building sector.

Since 2012, the Tunisian NAMA led by the Tunisian Energy Agency ANME has been strongly supported by Guidehouse (formerly Ecofys) under the Mitigation Momentum project. The project was part of the International Climate Initiative, an initiative supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment.

Guidehouse developed proposals and fostered cooperation and knowledge exchange within the NAMA community. On behalf of GIZ, Guidehouse and its Tunisian partner Alcor also designed the NAMA’s technical and financial features. The focus lay on a solar PV program for low-income households that renders PV systems affordable despite low equity and high market interest rates. During the project, Guidehouse

• conducted an affordability study,
• assessed the business model viability for low-income households and
• developed a financial mechanism together with all financial and non-financial stakeholders.

To allow for affordability, an interest rate subsidy and low-cost debt (i.e. blended debt from a local financial institution and development financial institution) are offered to eligible households. The concessional loans also benefit from a guarantee for loan repayment.

Find additional information at nama-facility.org and mitigationmomentum.org.