Camco wins significant clean energy contracts in East Africa(London, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, 21 September 2011) Camco, a global developer of clean energy solutions and projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has been awarded two new project development contracts in East Africa worth USD1.8 million in revenue over the next three years. The first is a USD1 million solar photovoltaic (PV) clusters project in Tanzania and the second is USD0.8 million project to provide technical assistance in the development of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in Uganda. These two deals follow similar contracts in Botswana and Uganda that Camco has won in the past 2 years. Camco believes that there is now a real drive to make clean energy projects work in many parts of Africa. Over the last two decades the company has been working with national governments, national and international corporates and non-governmental organisations. Camco provides project development, technical design and engineering, and procurement services as well as strategy development, planning and securing finance with the goal of making clean energy projects a reality on the ground.In 2010 renewable energy investment in Africa increased by 384% from USD 0.7bn in 2009 to USD 3.6bn. While this amount represents less than 5% of global new investment it does show the significant increase in attention given to the region by investors. A combination of factors is responsible for this sharp increase: the urgent need to scale up power capacity as a means of addressing energy access needs; the pressure applied to largely fossil-fuel based energy generation in South Africa, which provides much of sub-Saharan energy grid power; the prolonged high oil price levels; and the international pressure for emission reduction initiatives.Yariv Cohen, President of Camco commented: “Over the last few years there has been a significant increase in the attention given to the need for distributed energy generation from renewables, in Africa. Camco has been developing projects in Africa for the past 20 years and in the last year, we are seeing a clear change in the pace of market development with support from international bodies, African governments, and local communities on the ground.” “We believe there is now a real opportunity to create localised off-grid solutions to clean energy generation that meet local needs and conditions and that will substantially improve living standards. It is staggering that currently 93% of Tanzanians use wood and charcoal as their primary source of energy. This needs to change.”“As we move closer to the COP17* in Durban in December and indeed beyond, we foresee even faster growth in the sector and a more fundamental shift towards clean energy generation. These new contracts underline the trust that our partners have in Camco’s expertise.”In Tanzania, Camco has won a contract from the European Union (EU) to scale up its existing Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Clusters project, installing small-scale solar home systems (SHS) in a further 15,000 homes in the Lake Victoria region of the country over the next three years. The PV Clusters project aims to reduce key market barriers to the development of solar PV systems in rural Tanzania by enabling large groups of farmers, mine workers, teachers or palm oil producers to finance, purchase and install small-scale solar homes systems (SHS) in bulk, thereby achieving significant economies of scale.SHS are expected to play an important role in meeting the growing energy demand in Tanzania’s rural areas. Currently only 15% of the population has access to electricity according to the country’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals and an estimated 5.1 million rural households have no grid connection. Tanzania ranks amongst the world’s top ten countries for solar insolation making SHS ideally suited to deliver electricity to rural communities in off-grid areas. Tim Clarke, Head of EU Delegation in Tanzania said: "In Tanzania the potential for generating power from solar systems is virtually untapped. I am sure that this can be a very powerful tool for promoting sustainable rural development. We are happy to work with Camco which has recognised expertise in this area. We hope this pilot project can introduce new technologies that can be spread widely across Tanzania."The second contract is worth USD0.8 million with Camco providing technical assistance in the development of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects for the Belgian Development Agency (BTC) in Uganda. Camco leads a consortium, which includes Carbon Africa and Climate Change Concern, appointed to build local expertise in areas of carbon development that currently represent barriers to emission reduction projects in Uganda. Camco will identify project ideas; undertake feasibility studies; attract CDM financing for eligible projects; and undertake CDM project documentation throughout the entire CDM project cycle. Both schemes are expected to make a substantial contribution to improving people’s living standards and will help drive further economic development.