[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 141 (Monday, July 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44153-44154]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15791]


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MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION

[MCC FR 22-08]


Notice of Entering Into a Compact With the Government of Kosovo

AGENCY: Millennium Challenge Corporation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the provisions of the Millennium Challenge 
Act of 2003, as amended, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is 
publishing a summary of the Millennium Challenge Compact (Compact) 
between the United States of America, acting through MCC, and the 
Government of Kosovo. Representatives of MCC and the Government of 
Kosovo executed the Compact on July 15, 2022. The complete text of the 
Compact has been posted at: https://assets.mcc.gov/content/uploads/compact-kosovo.pdf.

(Authority: 22 U.S.C. 7709 (b)(3))

    Dated: July 19, 2022.
Thomas G. Hohenthaner,
Acting VP/General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.

Summary of Kosovo Compact

Overview of MCC Kosovo Compact

    MCC's five-year Compact with the Government of Kosovo in the amount 
of $202,000,000 aims to reduce poverty through economic growth by 
targeting a binding constraint to economic growth in the country: the 
unreliable supply of electricity. The Compact will address this 
constraint through three projects: the Energy Storage Project, the Just 
and Equitable Transition Acceleration (JETA) Project, and the American 
Catalyst Facility for Development (ACFD) Project. The ACFD Project 
leverages U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) 
financing to complement the objectives of the Energy Storage Project. 
MCC's investments in Kosovo's energy sector will accelerate Kosovo's 
transition towards an energy future that is more sustainable, 
inclusive, reliable, and affordable.

Project Summaries

    The projects and activities to be completed are:
    1. Energy Storage Project: The objective of the Energy Storage 
Project is to support energy security and transition to a cleaner 
energy future, as reflected by the (1) usage of energy storage systems; 
(2) availability of the energy storage system; and (3) reduced cost of 
securing adequate electricity for Kosovo. The project includes three 
activities:
     Frequency Restoration Response Activity: This activity 
intends to support the transmission system operator in owning and 
operating approximately 90 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy reserves to 
cost-effectively smooth out unexpected imbalances in the electricity 
grid.
     Multi-Functional Energy Storage (MFES) Activity: This 
activity intends to support a public or public-private partnership 
battery storage entity in owning and operating approximately 250MWh of 
energy storage that could be used for frequency restoration reserves, 
energy arbitrage, or other potential ancillary services, filling in 
gaps of longer-scale, unexpected outages or shifting energy to cover 
peak demand.
     Energy and Climate Policy Support Activity: This activity 
intends to support technical and administrative capacity building for 
energy and climate regulators and the policy and institutional reforms 
required to ensure the operating environment for energy storage in 
Kosovo is well defined and regulated through Kosovo's laws and 
supported by good planning, maintenance, and cost-reflective tariffs. 
It also aims to support cross-cutting measures on female employment and 
entrepreneurship across projects, and policy and institutional reform 
around pro-poor and gender-inclusive planning in the sector.
    2. JETA Project: The objectives of the JETA Project are to (1) 
produce graduates who are hired in relevant jobs in the energy and 
adjacent sectors; and (2) increase employment of women among 
participating employers in the

[[Page 44154]]

Inclusive Energy Sector Workforce Activity.
     Energy Skills for the Future Activity: This activity aims 
to establish new technical training programs and builds on existing 
programs to provide the skills demanded by employers in the energy and 
adjacent sectors, aiming to facilitate the Government of Kosovo's 
energy transition and increasing women's participation in such 
programs.
     Inclusive Energy Sector Workforce Activity: This activity 
aims to incentivize gender equitable practices among energy sector 
employers, support networking, training, and mentoring opportunities 
for women, and provide technical assistance to help increase female 
representation in energy companies in Kosovo.
    3. ACFD Project: The objective of the ACFD Project is to facilitate 
complementary DFC investments in Kosovo. The project aims to leverage 
DFC's financing to support one or more blended finance transaction(s) 
that will catalyze private investment in Kosovo that could include (1) 
complementing MCC's funding to deliver a public private partnership 
focused transaction for energy storage in lieu of a public entity for 
the MFES Activity; (2) leveraging private sector participation to scale 
a successful energy storage public entity launch via additional private 
sector delivered storage systems and services (i.e., additionally 
leased energy storage capacity); and (3) catalyzing complementary 
renewable energy investments that bolster generation capacity and 
strengthen the energy storage entity business case.

Kosovo Compact Budget

    The compact budget is up to $236,670,600, which includes up to 
$202,000,000 funded by MCC and a contribution from the Government of 
Kosovo of $34,670,600.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Component                           MCC funding
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Energy Storage Project...............................    $147,695,906
    1.1 Frequency Restoration Response Activity.........      21,481,015
    1.2 Multi-Functional Energy Storage Activity........     116,588,890
    1.3 Energy and Climate Policy Support Activity......       9,626,001
2. Just and Equitable Transition Acceleration Project...      16,000,000
    2.1 Energy Skills for the Future Activity...........       8,000,000
    2.2 Inclusive Energy Sector Workforce Activity......       8,000,000
3. American Catalyst Facility for Development...........       2,000,000
4. Monitoring and Evaluation............................       3,565,000
5. Program Management and Administration................      32,739,094
                                                         ---------------
    Total MCC Funding...................................     202,000,000
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Total compact funding                                             Amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total MCC Funding.......................................    $202,000,000
Government of Kosovo Contribution.......................      34,670,600
                                                         ---------------
    Total Compact.......................................     236,670,600
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[FR Doc. 2022-15791 Filed 7-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9211-03-P