The Power Africa Initiative was launched by President Obama in 2014 to increase power capacity by up to 30,000 megawatts and advance six million connections in Sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative began in Djibouti in June 2015, following a direct request from the President of Djibouti to President Obama. Currently, the Government of Djibouti partners with the Africa Finance Corporation, a private sector Power Africa partner and Engie, a French company, to develop wind and solar farms. The American company, Creative Energy Systems, runs a waste-to-energy project. The three will generate 130 MW of renewable energy in the national grid, providing energy security to the country which is currently relying on imports from Ethiopia.
In 2021, USAID re-engaged with the East Africa Geothermal Partnership to develop the geothermal resources in Djibouti starting with the exploration of new geothermal fields. In partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, USAID is currently implementing a pilot off-grid solar activity with Liquidstar, a social impact startup, using solar-powered charging stations and artificial intelligence to provide electricity via rentable batteries, extract water and ice through atmospheric water generation, and provide internet where Starlink is available to rural communities. Liquidstar returns a percentage of the revenue generated from carbon credits to the citizens of Djibouti as a form of Universal Basic Income, an activity implemented under USAID Global Development Alliance.
Djibouti is one of the eleven African countries selected by the African Development Bank to benefit from the Desert-to-Power Initiative. Power Africa supports this initiative by helping target countries to attract private sector financing through development of strategy and implementation plans as well as legal and regulatory regimes.