With support from the European Union, a consortium of two firms have been contracted to build four solar plants of 5MW each in the districts of Tororo and Soroti in eastern Uganda. Under the Global Energy Transfer for Feed-in-Tariffs program, best known as GET-FiT, the EU is supporting Uganda to develop its renewable energy potential with a Euro 20 million (Shs 68 billion) grant facility that will see the country build by far East Africas largest solar photovoltaic project, with a 20MW production capacity. There is currently no grid-connected solar plant above 1 MW in all of East Africa, making Uganda a first in the region. Funding for the GET FiT Solar Facility has been made available by the European Union Infrastructure Trust Fund through KfW, the German Development Bank. Speaking on behalf of development partners at the occasion to announce winning bidders, EU Head of Delegation, Ambassador Kristian Schmidt said: New Solar projects will diversify Ugandas electricity mix, reducing the current high dependency on hydropower, while reducing the need for thermal generation and reduce the emission of Greenhouse gases. He added: My first congratulations go to KFW and the German cooperation that have managed to gather together in a joint program so many Development Partners, namely the World Bank, UK, Norway and EU. It is a very good example of donors cooperation and blending of money. I also congratulate the Government of Uganda and the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) for their strong ownership and commitment within the GET-FIT program, and for their strong engagement with the private sector in renewable energy generation, within a well-developed and transparent sector policy and regulation. After a competitive bidding process that was initiated in January 2014, projects proposed by the Ugandan-Italian consortium - Simba Telecom Ltd./ Building Energy Spa and the consortium of Access / TSK Electronica (United Arab Emirates/Spain) were selected to benefit from the GET FiT Solar Facility. The two consortia will each build, own and operate grid-connected solar projects of 2x5 MW in Tororo and Soroti.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 08:03:42 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015