East Africa’s biggest solar plant launched

Residents of the eastern Uganda town of Soroti may be set to enjoy more stable and affordable power supply following the commissioning of East Africa’s largest solar power plant in the district.

The $19million power plant, which is Uganda’s first gridconnected solar plant, will generate 10MW of power, with the potential to double the capacity.

It is anticipated that the plant will extend sustainable electricity to 40,000 homes, businesses, and schools in the country.

State Minister for Energy Simon Dujang said the project is expected to reduce environmental degradation in the area.

In his speech, the head of the European Union delegation to Uganda, Kristian Schmidt said the east African nation has a conducive environment to invest in solar energy as the regulatory framework is conducive and government rightly recognizes the fact that the country’s energy future must be renewable.

The project was developed under the Global Energy Transfer Feed in Tariff (“GET FiT”), a support scheme for renewable energy projects managed by Germany’s KfW Development Bank in partnership with the Electricity Regulatory Agency (ERA).

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editor@independent.co.ug