Renewvia Energy to Invest $750M in Solar Mini-Grids Across Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and DR Congo to Expand Electricity Access in Sub-Saharan Africa
Renewvia Energy Corp. is accelerating its expansion of solar-powered mini-grid projects across Africa as energy companies intensify efforts to address the continent’s persistent electricity shortage.
The Atlanta-based renewable energy firm plans to enter Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The expansion is expected to require approximately $750 million in investment and aims to deliver around 2.1 million electricity connections, according to Renewvia Solar Africa CEO Trey Jarrard.
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the world’s largest region for energy poverty, with nearly 600 million people lacking access to electricity representing more than 80% of the global population without power.
Global initiatives such as the World Bank and African Development Bank-supported Mission 300 are seeking to close this gap by connecting 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030, according to Bloomberg reporting.
Renewvia currently operates 24 commercial mini-grids in Kenya and Nigeria, with systems ranging from 100 kilowatts to 2.5 megawatts.
These installations provide electricity to rural communities and commercial clients, including organizations such as Shell, United Bank for Africa (UBA), and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
The company is also pursuing $45 million in concessional financing to expand a metro-grid project in Kakuma refugee camp and to develop a renewable energy facility in Dadaab two of the largest refugee settlements in the world.
According to Jarrard, securing affordable, long-term financing would allow Renewvia to maintain lower electricity tariffs for end users.
The planned projects could significantly expand energy access in Kakuma and Dadaab, potentially increasing coverage fivefold and benefiting more than 550,000 people.
Renewvia has already established local subsidiaries in Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo to support early-stage project development.
One proposed initiative includes a mini-grid in Baraka, a lakeside town near Lake Tanganyika with an estimated population of 270,000 residents.
