iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Access Infra to launch solar plant in Uganda
The company will spend $500 million in the next three years on power generation plants, including in Egypt, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique.
Dubai - Access Infra Africa, a Dubai-based company, will launch what it says will be Africa’s largest privately-owned solar plant in Uganda this year, part of plans to develop electricity projects in 17 African countries, mainly based on renewable energy.
The company will spend $500 million in the next three years on power generation plants, including in Egypt, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique, Reda El Chaar, executive chairman of Access Power MEA, the majority owner of Access Infra Africa, said on Tuesday.
“Solar power is no longer an exotic power solution, it’s becoming a real contender in any (power) generation mix,” Chaar said.
“As far as power technology is concerned, solar power has made the biggest leap in the cost efficiencies in recent years.”
About 620 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, two thirds of the population, lack access to electricity, an International Energy Agency report estimated last October, predicting its energy demands would increase by 80 per cent by 2040.
The region’s power generation capacity will quadruple, the IEA forecast, with renewable energy accounting for about 45 per cent.
Chaar said that by 2018, the company’s portfolio would generate nearly one gigawatt of electricity, about enough energy for 700,000 homes.
In Uganda, Access Infra Africa’s 10-megawatt solar and wind power station will start generating electricity later this year, the first of its plants to become operational.
“This will be the largest privately-owned solar power plant in Africa,” Chaar said.
Two institutions, FMO, the Netherlands’ development bank and London-based Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund, provided debt funding for 70-80 per cent of the project’s costs, with Access Infra Africa committing the remainder in equity. French energy group EREN Développement has a shareholding in Access Infra Africa.
More news from Local Business
The latest branch is the second branch of the company at Sahara Centre and one of the eight branches opened in the UAE this year, the exchange house said in a statement
Local business8 months ago
Events to be staged at the DWTC, comprising diverse sectors including construction, energy, technology, beauty, food, healthcare, environment and automotive, will mark the emirate’s post-pandemic economic recovery
Local business8 months ago
Dubai FDI supports expansion by Amazon Web Services with upcoming data centres in the UAE
Local business8 months ago
Some banks are now permitting their customers to purchase Bitcoin and other crypto currencies after conducting due diligence tests on payments
Local business8 months ago
The percentage of using the digital transformation platform has grown to 96 per cent compared to the first half of last year, when the percentage of use did not exceed 76 per cent
Local business8 months ago