UK's Green Investment Bank to invest in first non-UK renewables projects

UK Climate Investments, the GIB's joint venture with the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), was given the go-ahead by the UK government in March. It plans to invest up to £200 million from DECC's £3.8 billion International Climate Fund into renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in developing countries.

Stephen West, managing director of UK Climate Investments, said that the investment programme involved "an integrated approach to tackling climate change and reducing poverty".

"Investment in our target territories will expedite the transition to a low-carbon global economy while supporting clean power generation and economic growth in the regions that need it most," he said.

UK Climate Investments will adopt the same approach in its target areas as the GIB uses in relation to its UK investments. This involves a combination of investment on commercial terms, and encouraging additional private sector capital.

The pilot programme is targeting investments in India, South Africa and Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania in East Africa. These areas have been selected due to high demand for new generation capacity, and the potential for renewables as a "competitive alternative" to fossil fuels, according to the announcement.

GIB chief executive Shaun Kingsbury said that the business model was one that "works", and that "adopting it in emerging economies could pave the way for more, much-needed investment in reliable green infrastructure projects".

The UK government announced in June that it planned to sell its shares in and explore privatisation options for the GIB.

Renewable energy investment expert Nick Shenken of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that the GIB should be able to use its "significant UK experience" to "catalyse private investment for sustainable energy in India and Africa".