The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $30 million loan for the Emerging Energy Latin America Fund II, designed to boost the private sector as a driving force in clean technologies and renewable energy in the region.

Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to see their energy demand increase by 75 percent by 2030, and renewable energy could account for half of that total demand, according to Andrés Ackermann, the IDB project team leader .

The new fund will invest in renewable energy projects including wind, solar, small hydropower and geothermal, and in energy services companies using clean technologies, including waste-management, biomass, energy efficiency and smart-grid projects. The IDB’s support of the fund fits in with the Bank’s commitment to help mitigate the impact of climate change.

The eventual size of the Emerging Energy Latin America Fund II is targeted at approximately $150 million. The Emerging Energy Latin America Fund II is the successor to a previous CleanTech Fund, an earlier stage $25.2 million fund that had a similar focus on renewable energy and clean technology and was supported by the IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF).