The Ituka Solar Power Station, is a planned solar power plant in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. The power station is under development by AMEA Power, an independent power producer (IPP), domiciled in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Location

The power station is located in the community of Ombaci, a suburb of Arua City, approximately , by road, northeast of the city center.

Overview

The design calls for a ground-mounted photo-voltaic solar power station with generation capacity of 20 megawatts. The power will be sold directly to the

Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited The Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) is a parastatal company whose primary purpose is to make bulk electricity purchases and transmit the electricity along high voltage wires to local and foreign distribution points. UETCL ...

(UETCL) for integration in the national electricity grid. A 20-year

power purchase agreement A power purchase agreement (PPA), or electricity power agreement, is a contract between two parties, one which generates electricity (the seller) and one which is looking to purchase electricity (the buyer). The PPA defines all of the commercial te ...

(PPA) has been signed between the developers and UETCL to guide the sale and purchase of electricity between the two. Construction is expected to start in 2024 and commercial commissioning is anticipated in 2025.

Developers

The power station is owned by AMEA Power, a

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

IPP with focus on

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Amea Power created a subsidiary that it owns 100 percent called Ituka West Nile Uganda Limited, a special purpose vehicle company specifically set up to develop, build and operate this solar power station.

Costs and funding

The cost of construction has not been disclosed as of December 2023. The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a subsidiary of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) has committed to lend US$19 million towards the development of this power station. The PIGD is funded by donor countries: United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany and the

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Grou ...

. In December 2023, the African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI), announced its intention to support this development through its ''Regional Liquidity Support Facility'' (RLSF). ATIDI will provide payment guarantees for the benefit of the project on behalf of UETCL. The insurance policy will cover up to six months' worth of revenue for the IPP and be in place for an initial duration of 15 years. The insurance policy makes the investment project more bankable and more secure.

References

External links