MySol Grid Zambia, a subsidiary of Engie Energy Access, has secured a $7.5 million loan to electrify 40,000 people in Zambia. The funding is being provided by the Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI).
Good news for MySol Grid Zambia. The subsidiary of French company Engie Energy Access has just secured $7.5 million in financing for its operations in Zambia. This is a senior debt contracted the Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI), a mechanism created by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to support electrification in Africa.
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The financing granted to MySol will support the construction of 60 solar photovoltaic mini-grids in Zambia. “Attracting long-term, non-recourse debt financing for mini-grid projects demonstrates the viability of the business model and the legitimacy of renewable mini-grid projects in the rural electrification landscape. This funding will contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” said Gillian-Alexandre Huart, CEO of Engie Energy Access.
Electrification of 40,000 people in rural areas
This includes MDG7, which aims to provide access to reliable, sustainable and modern energy at an affordable cost by 2030. In rural areas of Zambia, MySol finances, installs and operates systems made up of solar panels mounted on containers inside which batteries are installed to store the electricity. The containerised plant feeds a mini-electricity grid capable of supplying a community. MySol intends to use this solution to build an installed capacity of 5 MW thanks to funding from the FEI.
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According to Gillian-Alexandre Huart, the project should enable the electrification of at least 40,000 people, as well as small businesses and shops in rural areas. These solar mini-grids will be deployed under the 11th European Development Fund’s Improving Access to Electricity and Renewable Energy Programme (IAEREP).
It was under the IAEREP programme that the European Union (EU) awarded a €6 million grant to MySol a few years ago. “By widening the adoption of off-grid energy in Zambia, this initiative (the IAEREP programme, editor’s note) will provide economic and social opportunities for families and small businesses that cannot be connected to the national grid,” says Engie Energy Access.
Jean Marie Takouleu
