SkyPower Global, the UAE and Canada-headquartered developer and operator of solar power projects, announced on Friday that it has entered into a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with Lagos-based multilateral finance institution Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) for the first phase of SkyPower's Gree Contact online >>
SkyPower Global, the UAE and Canada-headquartered developer and operator of solar power projects, announced on Friday that it has entered into a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with Lagos-based multilateral finance institution Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) for the first phase of SkyPower''s Green Giant solar power project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The two entities will jointly invest and develop the 200-megawatt (MW) first phase of a 1,000MW solar power project in the central African nation, SkyPower said in a press statement, adding that construction of the plant will commence by 2025.
The partnership combines SkyPower''s global experience in developing large-scale solar projects and AFC’s proven track record of successfully de-risking and distributing capital for well-structured power and other infrastructure projects across Africa, the statement said.
During the JDA signing ceremony on Thursday, Kerry Adler, President & Chief Executive Officer of SkyPower said the company and the DRC''s state-owned utility, Société Nationale d''Electricité (SNEL) signed a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the project.
"From there, we are going to environmental permits, and at the same time, start working on the financing."
Amadou Wadda, Senior Director of Project Development and Technical Solutions at AFC said partnering with SkyPower, which has more than 20 years of global expertise in large-scale solar projects, is well aligned with the institution''s mission to advance energy access on the continent through renewable energy.
"This agreement underlines AFC’s pivotal contribution to promoting renewable energy solutions and both AFC and SkyPower''s unwavering commitment and dedication to ensuring a greener, more resilient world," he said.
During the signing ceremony, Wadda pointed out that AFC brings its balance sheet to bear on its transactions.
"Once we develop, we don''t just go to the financiers and ask them to bring debt, bring equity. We have the balance sheet to back the projects that we develop. You save time you would be otherwise spending looking for the money to do the projects..," he said.
The DRC Green Giant project, according to the press statement, marks a historic commitment from the DRC government to enhance electrification rates through renewable energy partnerships.
DRC President Félix Tshisekedi’s strategic vision to boost the nation’s clean energy output is expected to contribute a projected $2.3 billion stimulus to the country''s GDP and create approximately 30,000 job years.
SkyPower currently has a 10GW pipeline of projects in various stages of development, construction, and operation in the Middle East and Africa. It has over 30 utility-scale solar PPAs in operation across the globe and contracts amounting to more than $60 billion in long-term renewable energy sales to utilities and government partners.
SkyPower is majority-owned by CIM Group, a US-based community-focused real estate and infrastructure owner, operator, lender, and developer.
NURU develops and operates commercially-viable isolated solar-hybrid "metrogrids" (utility-scale urban mini-grids) that provide reliable, affordable and clean energy in the Eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Being active in the challenging environment of Eastern DRC, NURU has the potential to deliver truly widescale and transformational impact in one of the world''s poorest countries. Proparco contributes through this investment to the development of new decentralized models for the distribution of sustainable, reliable and low-carbon renewable energy in DRC cities, where access to electricity is a major issue for economic and social development.
Proparco has invested €1.5 million directly into this unprecedented company, that has at an early stage sustained through COVID, and in a fragile local environment. In 2018, NURU completed its first institutional round of financing, financed predominantly by ElectriFi and EAVF, enabling it to commission a first 55 kW site in Ben, and a second 1.35 MW site in Goma in Nor th Kivu.
Proparco is further planning to participate in the company''s upcoming series B round, to further scale its operations. Building on these initial successes, the company has developed a pipeline of mini-grid projects in Eastern DRC.
Proparco plans to co-invest with IFC in this opportunity, and has jointly led the ESG and Governance action plans, bringing much-needed risk capital to the round to fully finance the series B projects. The raise will help to accelerate the implementation of three nationally-strategic development projects in Goma, Kindu and Bunia, with an aggregate installed capacity of 13.7MWp. Proparco plans to make the series B investment from its "African Renewable Energy Scale-Up facility" (ARE Scale-Up facility), which is supported by the European Union to boost private sector investment in on–grid and off-grid renewable energy production in Africa.
The investment into NURU is high-risk given its nature of business, and the environment where it operates, but is expected to generate a great opportunity for both financial and high-impact results:
Alliance members or other stakeholders are welcome to participate in future financing rounds of NURU, as the company will continue to seek equity and debt to develop its secured pipeline of another in 2024/2025. Technical Assistance and grant funding are also much welcomed, as NURU needs further scaling to reach more businesses and households.
Investing in NURU is supporting a more sustainable and resilient economy, in off-grid, within a fragile conflict-prone region, but one with untapped potential of towns of millions without access to the grid.
The project will be backed by strong strategic investors in the industry, including DFIs (IFC, REPP) and industry experts. NURU is a highly-scalable and resilient business with excellent visibility on growth, thanks to 43.2 MW of actionable, advanced pipeline across the region. NURU''s mission is to deliver reliable, affordable, renewable energy to 5 million people in the DR Congo.
East African Power says it will build two 133 MW solar projects. The installations have 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the national utility, Société Nationale de l''Electricité (SNEL).
Image: Kudra_Abdulaziz, Pixabay
Canadian renewables company East African Power (EAP) has acquired an 85% stake in two solar projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The two solar projects, with an installed capacity of 133 MW each, are located in Katanga and Lualaba provinces.
The Trade and Development Bank (TDB) supports East African Power in the project preparation process to achieve financial close in 2024. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supports East African Power under the East Africa Power Program and the Sustainable Capital Africa Facility.
The projects have secured 20-year PPAs with the national utility, Société Nationale de l''Electricité (SNEL).
"With the support of esteemed organizations like TDB, we are excited to support the growth of the IPP market in the DRC, providing clean, reliable, and sustainable power to drive economic growth and enhance the quality of life for the people of DRC," said said East African Power CEO Dan Klinck.
An East African Power spokesperson said that the company is the lead developer and sponsor of the projects. Its focus is to complete the pre-development activities of the project, close the financing, and complete the construction of the plants.
According to Power Africa, the two solar power plants should help to diversify Congo''s electricity mix. It currently has an installed capacity of 2,844 MW, of which hydroelectric power stations generate 2,792 MW. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Congo had just 20 MW of installed PV capacity at the end of 2022.
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