Solar Firm Plans $750 Million Power Grids in Four Africa Nations

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(Bloomberg) — Renewvia Energy Corp., an operator of solar-powered mini-grids, is expanding into settlements in four African nations as efforts turn to renewable energy to plug a power deficit on the continent. 

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The expansion into Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo will require about $750 million for 2.1 million connections, Renewvia Solar Africa Chief Executive Officer Trey Jarrard said in an interview. 

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At almost 600 million people, sub-Saharan Africa accounts for more than 80% of people without access to power globally. The World Bank and African Development Bank are heading up the Mission 300 program, in which tens of billions of dollars may be spent connecting 300 million Africans by 2030.

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Renewvia already operates 24 commercial mini grids in Kenya and Nigeria ranging from 100 kilowatts to 2.5 megawatts each, serving tens of thousands of rural citizens in remote communities and commercial clients including Shell, UBA Bank and UNHCR.

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For Kenya, the Atlanta-based company is also seeking $45 million in long-term, concessional debt to expand a metro grid in Kakuma, a refugee settlement in northwestern Kenya, and to develop a renewable plant in Dadaab, another region that also shelters people fleeing fighting in their home nations.

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“We’d like it to be concessionary financing because we can keep the tariff as low as possible if we have a longer tenure loan with lower interest rates,” Jarrard said. 

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The loan will be to Renewvia Kakuma Ltd., a special purpose vehicle. It will backed by $8 million of existing assets that generate $500,000 operating earnings annually, and the new project’s $40 million of assets.

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The financing should drive connections fivefold to more than 550,000 people in Kakuma and Dadaab, which are some the largest refugees camps globally, Jarrard said. 

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The company has established entities in Congo, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia to facilitate early-stage development efforts. It’s in talks with local authorities to set up a mini-grid in Baraka, a town of 270,000 people on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, where some of its existing customers in Kakuma refugee camp are from.

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“Renewvia could vastly turn into the largest humanitarian utility on the continent or in the world just because of what we see as really needed and working in those particular environments,” Jarrard said.

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