Gigawatt Global launched an 8.5MW solar power utility in Rwanda worth $23.7 million and it is the first utility-scale solar project to be under the US-Africa Clean Finance (ACEF) programme. The utility is located in the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in the southeast of the country and is shaped like the African continent.
“The project expands electricity generation capacity by more than 6 per cent in a country where more than 80 percent of the people live without access to electricity, and is providing enough grid-connected power to supply 15,000 homes,” said John Kerry, US Secretary of State.
This is one of the longest solar facilities in Africa and to cap it all it comes with minimal maintenance and no fuel cost.
“Projects like Gigawatt Global’s, realized with the support of the US Department of State, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and the US Trade and Development Agency through ACEF, underscore that the best path to energy access and economic development is also the sustainable path of clean energy,” he concluded.