- Winch will deploy modular solar solutions to 49 sites in both countries.
- All RPUs are expected to be operational by Q2 2022.
- FMO will provide a $12m facility to finance the deployment of these RPUs.
Winch Energy Limited will deploy solar mini-grid projects in Uganda and Sierra Leone. Under this programme, Winch will deploy off-grid modular solutions – Remote Power Units (RPU) in 49 villages in both countries. The units will provide sustainable energy to about 60,000 people. Winch energy will design and manufacture the RPUs at its assembly facility in Sicily, Italy. The programme’s second phase will deploy 6,000 portable batteries to serve people inhabiting areas far from the RPUs.
The installation of the RPUs has commenced as RPUS for the first 13 villages have been shipped to Uganda. The remaining 12 are set to arrive before the end of the year. All RPU sites are expected to be operational in early 2022. In Sierra Leone, 12 RPUs are already operational in 12 villages. Full operations of all 24 RPUs intended for Sierra Leone is expected by Q2 next year. Winch Energy IPP Holdings Limited (WIPP), where NOA is the main shareholder, is the new investment platform for those projects.
Dutch development bank FMO has set up a syndicated facility through its Access to Energy Fund and the Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) to lend Winch Energy IPP Holdings Limited (WIPP) the first tranche of around $4 million for the portfolio of mini-grids in Uganda and Sierra Leone. The facility also includes a second tranche of up to $6 million to fund future projects as WIPP expands its operations in Sierra Leone, Uganda, and other countries.
“We are obviously delighted to close this debt financing from FMO and REPP Camco, which represents a landmark for the off-grid industry in Africa and Worldwide,” said Nicholas Wrigley, CEO of Winch Energy. “This first tranche represents the beginning of our investment programme with our partner NOA, and additional investments will soon follow in Sierra Leone and Uganda, and we are also targeting Nigeria and Ethiopia for 2022. The teams at Winch Energy and NOA have worked extraordinarily hard to bring about this innovative debt financing, and for that, I wish to thank them.”