Uganda's Vice President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi has installed the first solar panel of what he calls 'is slated to become the largest solar energy generation plant in East and Central Africa'. While laying the first module on site, Ssekandi said the 20 MW Kabulasoke Pilot Solar Project will provide power to neighboring districts upon completion.
However, news outlet The Observer claims the project will have a total installed capacity of 25 MW and is first in the 150 MW solar power project portfolio that the Xsabo Group plans to develop across the country with an investment of $199 million. The 25 MW project is expected to cost $24.5 million, as per the article.
In October 2017, Building Energy commissioned what is one of the largest PV projects in Eastern Africa, the 10 MW Tororo Solar Plant in Uganda, developed under the country's Global Energy Transfer Feed-in-Tariff (GET FiT) (see 10 MW PV Plant Online In Uganda).
The Kabulasoke Pilot Solar Project is located in the villages of Namulaba and Butiti in Gomba district of the country. An official statement from the Vice President doesn't give too many details about the plant, except that it will cover an area of 120 acres and directly employ more than 300 people.
The project is expected to lead to socio-economic benefits for the region, so that maize and coffee milling machines can be installed with clean power in Gomba and also women will be able to set up their own small businesses like embroidery and saloons, making them financially independent.
Other investment partners in the project are Great Lakes Energy Company NV and IMMODO Energy Group. Xsabo Group's CEO and Managing Director, Dr. David Alobo said only 28% of the population in the country has access to power. Several investors have relocated to other countries citing inadequate and unreliable power, he added.
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