Cape Verde islands will be the first to host wind farms on African soil.

The European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank agreed to finance the project that will ease Cape Verde’s reliance on imported oil, which authorities have long desired. The banks and Cape Verde officials commemorated the pact with a signing ceremony in Washington.

"This will be the first large scale wind project in Africa and first renewable energy public private partnership in sub-Saharan Africa," according to the European Investment Bank.

The wind farms seek to supply more than 28 megawatts of electricity as part of the effort to help Cape Verde to meet 25 percent of the nation’s energy demand by 2012. The nation seeks to double that figure by 2020.

The project is a public-private partnership between the Cape Verde government and Electra, the local power utility. Wind power serves as an alternative to electricity produced by fuel oil and diesel, and the farms will increase access to electricity in Cape Verde.

Another byproduct of the project is serving as a model for additional African nations to emulate.

"Cape Verde is pleased to host the first large scale wind farm project in Africa," said Cape Verde Minister of Finance Cristina Duarte.