- The plant should see its capacity doubled in the coming months.
- This is the first successful project by an IPP in Burundi so far.
The Burundi government has approved the expansion of the 7.5 MWp Mubuga solar photovoltaic park, located near the capital Gitega. The plant should see its capacity doubled in the coming months. Burundi is betting on solar photovoltaic energy to increase its installed capacity. Evariste Ndayishimiye reaffirmed this recently during his visit to Mubuga. The President of the Republic of Burundi went to this village near the capital Gitega to visit the largest solar power plant in the country in the company of several foreign diplomats, including the ambassadors of the United States of America and the Netherlands.
President Evariste Ndayishimiye approved expanding the Mubuga solar power plant during the visit. The park has a capacity of 7.5 MWp and has been in operation since May 2021. The plant was built under a public-private partnership (PPP) signed between the government of Burundi and Gigawatt Global. The renewable energy producer based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, awarded the construction (EPC) of the plant to the French company Voltalia.
According to Gigawatt Global, the Mubuga solar power plant supplies up to 10% of Burundi’s electricity. The Dutch independent power producer (IPP) also estimates that the plant can provide 87,600 Burundians. This is the first successful project by an IPP in Burundi so far. It also represents the most significant international private investment in the electricity sector in the East African country for almost 30 years.