The Netherlands based renewable energy company Gigawatt Global Coöperatie U.A. is reported to invest and construct a 10 MW solar PV power plant in Monrovia region of Liberia. According to a local media outlet Daily Observer, Gigawatt Global's New Projects Coordinator Remy Reinstein signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Liberian government represented by the country's Foreign Affairs Minister Marjon Kamara.
For the 10 MW project, all financing is said to come from Gigawatt Global. The Dutch company will prepare a roadmap detailing steps that are needed to develop the plant, carry out technical and financial feasibility studies and hand it over to Liberian Electricity Company (LEC), the national electricity company. All this is planned to be finished in a period of eight months.
The reports submitted are planned to be studied by the government and approved within next 30 days for the developer to start work on the project. The government will help secure land for the power plant and facilitate an interaction between the company and leading universities located near the plant site.
Gigawatt Global has a pipeline of 1,000 MW of solar power projects, most of them in East Africa. The African projects it is currently working on includes a 8.5 MW solar PV plant in Rwanda, a 7.5 MW solar PV project in Mubuga-Burundi and a 135 MW project in Nigeria. The company on its website lists the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) or the US government initiative Power Africa as partners. Its business model is to partner with energy financial partners, governments, development group and institutions to structure socially responsible investments.
The Liberia project will have the structure of a corporate social responsibility program, knowledge transfer and training for rural solar electrification. Gigawatt Global will also be looking at developing 30 MW more PV capacity in the country in cooperation with the government.