World Bank-backed project to provide solar power to 40,000 families

MANILA, Philippines – The World Bank and LGU Guarantee Corp. have signed a $15.8-million grant agreement to provide 40,000 families in remote areas with access to solar power.

The Access to Sustainable Energy Project is supported by the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid (GPOBA) with a $3-million donation, $12.8 million from the European Union and an additional contribution from the Department of Energy.

The project aims to provide electricity to poor households in isolated areas.

The project will focus on conflict-affected Mindanao, where poverty is “disproportionately high” and over a quarter of the population lives without electricity, according to the World Bank.

GPOBA is a global partnership program founded in 2003 and administered by the World Bank. It is a multi-donor trust fund used to develop output and results-based aid approaches to provide basic services in infrastructure, health and education.  

LGU Guarantee Corp. is a Philippine-based credit guarantee company owned by the Bankers Association of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines.

“This project supports affordable, clean energy in the Philippines for those who have no access to the grid,” said GPOBA head Catherine Commander O’Farrell.

The project will be implemented by the LGU Guarantee Corp. in partnership with electric cooperatives.

The company will organize competitive biddings for select private contractors to supply and install the home solar systems. GPOBA will disburse output-based subsidies to contractors upon verification that the systems have been installed and are functioning.