With financial backing from the U.S. government, an Israeli solar developer Gigawatt Global Cooperatief UA signed a deal with the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States to build $1 billion of renewable energy projects in the region.
The U.S. is supporting the project through its Power Africa initiative set up in 2013 under President Barack Obama’s administration, a program that had pledged to invest $7 billion over five years. The advancement of this deal is an indication that the U.S. Agency for International Development has retained its ability to act even though President Donald Trump has slashed aid budgets and criticized U.S. involvement in poverty alleviation.
