Today, it was announced that construction of the largest solar project in East Africa will begin next month – a 10 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic project in Uganda. At a cost of $19 million, the project is the largest privately funded solar power plant in Sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa.
The project was financed by a mix of debt and equity with the senior debt facility being provided by FMO, the Netherlands development bank, and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a facility of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), The members of PIDG are the development agencies of Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, as well as the World Bank group. The project reached financial close in a record time and therefore provides a successful and easily replicable case study of fast-track implementation of a renewable energy generation project conducted by private developers in Africa.
The solar power plant is expected to be operational and connected to the national grid in July 2016 and will provide sustainable clean energy to 40,000 homes in the area. The project will contribute to increasing electrification rates in the region while providing the Ugandan population with low-carbon electricity, in a country which benefits of high solar resources. Uganda currently has about 800 MW of installed electric capacity mostly from hydro and thermal sources and 18.2 percent of electrification rate, according to the World Bank.
The project is initiated by Paris-based Eren Renewable Energy (“EREN RE”) and Dubai-based Access Infra Africa (“Access”). Together they will manage the construction of 10 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV). The plant is based in Soroti, 300 kilometres northeast of Uganda’s capital, Kampala. The project is the first solar power plant successfully developed under the GET FiT Facility, a dedicated support scheme for renewable energy projects managed by Germany’s KfW Development Bank in partnership with the Government of Uganda through the Electricity Regulatory Agency (ERA). The GET FiT solar facility is funded by the European Union Infrastructure Trust Fund, and the program is also supported by the Governments of Norway, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Linda Broekhuizen, CIO of FMO, mentions the importance of the project: “FMO is a proud supporter of this project. Renewable energy projects like these are fully in line with our aim to positively affect peoples’ lives by supporting development and creating jobs and providing clean and sustainable energy to Uganda.”
About FMO
FMO is the Dutch development bank. FMO has invested in the private sector in developing countries and emerging markets for more than 45 years. Our mission is to empower entrepreneurs to build a better world. We invest in sectors where we believe our contribution can have the highest long-term impact: financial institutions, energy and agribusiness. Alongside partners, we invest in the infrastructure, manufacturing and services sectors. With an investment portfolio of EUR 8 billion spanning over 85 countries, FMO is one of the larger bilateral private sector development banks globally. www.fmo.nl
Press contact:
Paul Hartogsveld
Senior Marketing & Communications
T: +31 70 314 9928
