A 10MW solar PV plant to be constructed in Uganda’s eastern town of Soroti will be the largest solar PV plant in East Africa and is expected to provide clean electricity to 40,000 local households.
The US$ 19m project was initiated by a consortium of European clean energy companies, solar EPCs and financing institutes who are working together to make plant operational by July this year. French clean Power Company, Eren RE and African development specialists Access Energy Group are also part of the project.
The multi-million solar power plant which has already broken ground is the first to be developed under Uganda’s GET FiT facility, it is a project set up jointly by KfW and the Ugandan government’s Electricity Regulatory Agency (ERA). The European Union Infrastructure Trust Fund is also involved, while Spanish EPC firm TSK Group will oversee the construction of the plant and sub-contract some of the work to local firms.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, apart from it being the largest project it is also the leading privately funded solar development. It is being financed by several companies including; London’s Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund, Dutch development bank FMO and Germany’s KfW Development Bank.
In Africa, the multinational company, Dubai-based Access Energy Group has allotted many solar projects and is currently in the process of developing 190 MW of solar PV in Egypt, others in Kenya, Ghana and central Asia.
“Renewable energy such as solar has a unique opportunity to augment Africa’s infrastructure and shape a cleaner future by effectively plugging in 10 to 50 MW. The limited availability of the grid in Africa plays an important role for the deployment of renewable,” Access Energy Group’s MD Reda El Chaar said.
