Solar and social development enterprise Gigawatt Global has broken ground on a 7.5 MW solar field that will boost Burundi’s electricity generation capacity.

The $14-million project is being built in the Mubuga district, in one of the world's least-developed nations and is expected to be connected to the national grid by the fourth quarter of this year.

“This high-impact development investment, supported by leading international financial institutions, signals that Burundi is open for development and business,” Gigawatt Global finance and business development VP Michael Fichtenberg said.

This will be the largest private international investment in the power sector in Burundi in nearly 30 years, with the power to be sold to national electricity company Regediso under a 25-year agreement.

“We are very excited at the ground-breaking of the Gigawatt Burundi solar field. After their success in Rwanda, Gigawatt Global has proven it can be relied on to deliver efficient, clean renewable energy at reasonable cost, contributing greatly to our economy and society.

“We look forward to the speedy completion of this project and are thankful for the collaboration and cooperation with Gigawatt Global, as energy in Burundi is a clear priority,” said Burundi’s Energy and Mines Minister, Come Manirakiza.

Gigawatt Global, a US-owned Dutch developer, is a founding member of the Power Africa initiative and financed and developed the first commercial-scale solar field in continental sub-Saharan Africa (outside South Africa) in neighbouring Rwanda in 2014.

The project has been supported by a grant from the Energy and Environment Partnership and the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries to cover the relevant studies. The project is also supported by the African-European Union Renewable Energy Cooperation Programme and the Renewable Energy Performance Platform, currently engaging in project due diligence.

“Gigawatt Global is expecting to deploy $2-billion in renewable-energy projects in Africa as partners of the White House Power Africa initiative in the coming years, as renewables are taking the lead in power generation in Africa and emerging markets,” said CEO Josef Abramowitz.

“We are targeting sub-Saharan Africa as a high-impact and high-growth market, with a portfolio of small, medium and large power projects in the highest-priority development areas,” he added.