Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change cover image

Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change

A Clean Energy Playbook For The Global South — Ep196: Lucy Heintz

Feb 12, 2025
Lucy Heintz, Partner and Head of Energy Infrastructure at Actis, discusses clean energy investments in the Global South. She highlights the urgent need for billions in funding for clean energy infrastructure and the challenges in attracting investors. Lucy describes the evolution of investment strategies from government-funded to private initiatives, shares insights on India's renewable advancements, and explores how to navigate risks and maximize value in emerging markets. The conversation offers a deep dive into the complexities and opportunities of fostering sustainable energy solutions.
57:58

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • The Global South requires substantial annual clean energy investments yet receives only a small fraction of global capital flows.
  • Investment in critical infrastructure in growth markets can yield sustainable returns despite perceived geopolitical and market risks.

Deep dives

Low Default Rates in African Power Projects

The discussion highlights an impressively low default rate of 1.4% for power projects in Africa compared to the approximate 8-9% default rate in the US energy market. This statistic challenges perceptions about the risks associated with investing in African infrastructure, suggesting that with the right protections, these projects can be remarkably resilient. The emphasis on critical infrastructure as essential to economic growth underscores the reliability of such investments. The speaker’s experience reinforces the idea that strategic planning and risk management can mitigate concerns traditionally associated with doing business in these regions.

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