The Private Sector Liaison Officers (PSLO) Energy Sector Mission 2017 with the theme ‘Integrating Sustainable Energy in Global Development’ attracted more than 80 energy organizations from eight different countries interested in the work International Financial Institutions do in the Energy Sector. The PSLO Energy Sector Mission 2017 was jointly hosted by the following organizations: Alberta Canada, the Embassy of the Netherlands, Advantage Austria, Business France, ICEX and the World Bank Group.

The PSLO Energy Sector Mission 2017 took place from October 23 till October 25, 2017. The three-day program provided these organizations with information on the energy sector strategies, priorities and portfolio of the World Bank Group, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). In addition to meeting key energy experts at these institutions, the program incorporated events toallow company participants to network and exchange experience and ideas with a view to potential partnerships.

According to the International Financial Institutions the energy sector is affected by the global project trends of sustainability, technology and development. The expectations are that the global market shares of traditional energy sources such as coal, oil and gas in particular are likely to drop sharply in the next ten years, while those of wind-, solar- and hydro- power will increase more and more. For example, the solar power in the US has a revenue of $5.9 billion with a profit of $1.7 billion. Another illustration is the growing revenues within the US wind power industry with a revenue of $10.4 billion and profit of $1.6 billion. This increasing demand is not only caused due to individuals preferences of creating sustainable environments, but also by pressure of the government.

The global trend of creating a more sustainable power sector is confirmed by the portfolios of various previously mentioned International Financial Institutions. Last year, EBRD invested more than half of their portfolio within 284 projects concerning energy (23%) and green economy transition (33%) with a total value of €12.568 billion. These projects consist for example of renewable energy generation and technologies, conventional power generation projects and power transmissions lines. The EBRD’s Strategy Implementation Plan for 2016-18 consists of attracting 3,000 consultancy contracts for an amount of €189.15 million and technology consultancy contracts for €258 million.

International Financial Institution projects involving sustainable energy create many opportunities for businesses such as consulting services of goods, works, technology and other related services. Should you as an organization want to know more about the role the IFI’s play in relation to the energy sector, don’t hesitate to contact us or them directly. The slides of the various presentations during the PSLO Energy Sector Mission (2017) can be viewed here.