The Government of Burundi is planning to double the capacity of the existing 7.5 MW solar photovoltaic project located near the village of Mubuga.
The project was commissioned in May 2021 and since then, contributes about 10% of Burundi's electricity needs. The six-year process of developing and building Burundi’s first solar plant was led by Gigawatt Global, a green energy developer and independent power producer for Africa. Financing for the construction of the project was provided via a consortium including pan-African private equity investor Inspired Evolution via its Evolution II Fund, the UK government-funded Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP – managed by Camco), and Gigawatt Global. Political risk insurance and refinancing of construction debt are being led by the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
Additional support for the solar farm was provided directly and indirectly by the Energy and Environment Partnership (EEP – a fund set up by Finland, the UK, and Austria) and the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO). Trinity International has advised the Gigawatt Global and Inspired Evolution equity teams since 2017. Engineering, procurement, and construction services were provided by the French firm Voltalia.
