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The D.R.C. has signed PPAs for the development of two solar power plants.
- The plants will have a capacity of 100MW each.
- Both plants will cost about $300m.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s state-owned utility company SNEL has signed power purchase agreements (PPA) to construct two 100MW solar power plants in the copper and cobalt-rich southeast. The projects will cost over $300 million. One of the plants will be constructed in the town of Kolwezi and will cost $148 million, while the second will be sited in Likasi will and will require $157 million.
According to SNEL, the construction of the projects is expected to commence in March 2022, with operations slated for early 2023. Financing Access has partnered with investment fund Green Power Capital (GPC) to develop the projects.
SNEL’s Director-General, Jean-Bosco Kayombo Kayan, noted that the signing of this agreement would improve electricity supply in the major urban and peri-urban centres. “We will be able to ensure the supply of electricity to industrialists in the area, in particular the mining companies which represent the economic lungs of Haut-Katanga and Lualaba (provinces),” he added.
Both plants will supply the grid with an average of about 500GWh every year, meeting the electricity needs of over 1.25 million people.
Congo is the continent’s top producer of copper and the largest producer of cobalt (used in batteries and electronics production) globally.