DRC- A consortium led by Gridworks including Eranove and AEE Power, have signed three concession agreements with the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to develop, build and operate three large scale solar hybrid off grid utilities.
The infrastructure will transform the lives and livelihoods of half a million people by providing power to three cities, Gemena, Bumba and Isiro in the north of the country.
The three cities currently have no grid connection, and struggle to access reliable, affordable, and clean power.
The consortium was selected as the winning bidder for the Essor Access to Energy (A2E) Initiative (Essor Project) after an international tender process run by the Project Coordination and Management Unit (UCM) of the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity with support and funding from the UK government.
The 22-year concession agreements were signed in Kinshasa by Gridworks’ CEO, Simon Hodson, on behalf of the consortium, and the Congolese Minister of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity, M. Mwenze Mukaleng; in the presence of the Governors of the three provinces, the UK’s Ambassador to the DRC, Emily Maltman; representatives of UCM; and other key Congolese energy stakeholders.
The governments of the UK and DRC have been key partners in the development of the Essor Project. Essor aims to encourage business growth, job creation, and improvements in health and education by building solar powered infrastructure to supply reliable and affordable electricity
The consortium, which is led by Gridworks, the UK government-backed investor in Africa’s electricity networks, also announced the brand name of the companies that will ultimately provide power to the residents and businesses of the three cities.
The companies will be branded as Moyi Power; Moyi is a word for sun in Lingala, one of four national languages of DRC, and the main language of the three cities that will benefit from the project.
Moyi has committed to offer opportunities to local suppliers and consultants, and to local employees, in the development, construction and operation of the solar-hybrid infrastructure that will power the cities.
“The initial investment for the three sites will be at least US$100 million, funded with a mixture of equity from the consortium, debt provided by development finance institutions (DFIs) and capital grants from donors and DFIs”
This will directly create new, green jobs, as well as employment in the wider economy as small businesses grow thanks to access to reliable power.
The initial investment for the three sites will be at least US$100 million, funded with a mixture of equity from the consortium, debt provided by development finance institutions (DFIs) and capital grants from donors and DFIs.
The consortium is in discussions for the provision of debt finance with both the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund and the African Development Bank (AfDB), and for the potential provision of grants with the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), The Rockefeller Foundation and the AfDB’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa. Both AfDB and PIDG have also provided advice, support regarding the structuring of the transaction during the tender process.
The development and financing process is expected to take at least 14 months and at the conclusion of financing and other contractual arrangements, Moyi Power will then begin an approximately 18-month construction period of the three power plants and associated distribution networks.
The company will then start operating the three utilities and provide power for remainder of the twenty two-year operating period of the concessions.
Distributed renewable energy (DRE) projects such as Essor use isolated local power grids which distribute power to homes and businesses from renewable sources such as solar and wind and they operate independently of the national grid. Essor has generated significant interest from the DFI community because it provides a new approach for off-grid investment: a replicable model with the scale and regulatory underpinning to attract further investment in green field utilities across Africa.
The potential development impact for the project is significant in a country where less than 10% of the population has access to reliable electricity.
The project is also expected to have a significant climate change impact as it cuts carbon emission through the displacement of diesel generation.
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