Access to Construct Solar Power Plant in Uganda

Posted on :Monday , 7th March 2016

KAMPALA, UGANDA - Access Uganda Solar Limited, a partnership between Access Power and EREN RE, will build the 10MW solar PV project in Soroti, Uganda writes SAM OKWAKOL.

Soroti is situated 300 kilometres northeast of Kampala, Uganda’s capital city.

According to sources, the 10MW plant will provide clean, low-carbon, sustainable electricity to 40,000 homes and businesses in the area.

The project is owned by Access Uganda Solar Limited, a partnership between EREN Renewable Energy (EREN RE) and Access Power (Access).

Total value of the investment is $19 million and Soroti will be the first grid-connected solar plant in Uganda.

Soroti will also make a significant contribution to increasing electrification rates in the region, which enjoys some of the highest levels of solar resources in the country.

According to a press release, Soroti is the largest privately funded solar power plant in Sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa. It is also the largest solar project in East Africa.

The TSK Group of Spain has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract. TSK will sub-contract parts of the work to local firms.

Local labour is being hired for the construction phase and the developers will also recruit and train engineers to operate the plant.

Financial close was achieved on 20th January 2016, but the plant is expected to be operational and connected to the national grid in July 2016

The project reached financial close within four months of the power purchase agreement being signed.

The 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) was signed in fourth quarter of 2015. with the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (UETCL), the state-owned utility company. The location was chosen due to the region’s low power generation capacity.

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