Tororo Solar Power Station

Tororo Solar Power Station
Map
CountryUganda
LocationTororo, Tororo District
Coordinates00°37′50″N 34°06′40″E / 0.63056°N 34.11111°E / 0.63056; 34.11111
StatusOperational
Construction began14 December 2016
Commission date16 October 2017[1][2]
OwnerTororo Solar North Limited
Solar farm
TypeFlat-panel PV
Power generation
Nameplate capacity10 megawatts (13,000 hp)
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Tororo Solar Power Station, also Tororo Solar North Power Station, is a 10 megawatts (13,000 hp) solar power plant in Uganda, the third-largest economy in the East African Community.[3]

Location

The power station is located in Tororo District, approximately 12 kilometres (7 mi), by road, southwest of the town of Tororo in the Eastern Region of Uganda.[4] This is approximately 230 kilometres (143 mi) by road, east of Kampala, the country's capital and largest city.[5] The geographical coordinates of Tororo Solar Power Station are 0°37'50.0"N, 34°06'40.0"E (Latitude:0.630556; Longitude:34.111111).[6]

Overview

The power station has a capacity of 10 megawatts, sold directly to the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited for integration in the national electricity grid. The electricity is evacuated via a substation near the power station. The energy generated will power approximately 40,000 homes, located near the power station, thus minimizing transmission losses.[7]

Developers

The power station was developed by a special purpose vehicle company, "Tororo Solar North Limited', specifically set up to develop, build and operate this solar power station. Tororo Solar is majority owned by Building Energy SpA, an International developer of renewable power sources, with headquarters in Milan, Italy.[7][8][9] Other owners in the consortium include the Ugandan "Simba Group". The Simba Group also owns Electromaxx Limited, the owner-operator of the 70 megawatt Tororo Thermal Power Station, commissioned in 2010.[10] The power generated at this power station is expected to serve an estimated 170,600 people.[11]

Construction timeline, costs and funding

The cost of construction was budgeted at US$19.6 million, of which the owners contributed US$4.9 million. The remaining US$14.7 million was borrowed from Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO).[11] Fifty percent of the FMO loan was syndicated from the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), which is substantially funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland and by the German development finance institution, KFW and its Dutch equivalent, FMO.[12][13] The project is a beneficiary of the GETFit Uganda program led by KfW,[14] receiving grant support from (amongst other contributors) the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund (EU-AITF). Construction began on 14 December 2016,[12][15][13][16] and commissioning was performed on 16 October 2017.[1][17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b EEEU (16 October 2017). "10 MW EU funded Tororo Solar Power Plant opens". Eeas.Eupora.eu (EEEU). Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  2. ^ Kwesiga, Pascal (15 October 2017). "Government generates 32.7MW of renewable energy". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  3. ^ Biryabarema, Elias (10 December 2014). "Four Firms To Build 20 MW Solar Power Plants In Uganda". Reuters.com. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Road Distance Between Tororo, Uganda And Tororo Solar Power Station" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Road Distance Between Kampala, Uganda And Tororo Solar Power Station" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Location of Tororo Solar Power Station" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  7. ^ a b Martin, Miguel (15 December 2014). "Two Teams Selected for Ugandan Solar Power Plants". IPPJournal.Com. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  8. ^ Tentena, Paul (11 January 2015). "Italians Win Uganda Solar Energy Project". East African Business Week. Kampala. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  9. ^ Wandera, Julius (28 January 2014). "Joint Press Release: Solar PV Project - ERA and GETFiT announce the first 20 MW of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) projects to be developed in Uganda". Kampala: Simba Group. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  10. ^ Kasita, Ibrahim (29 December 2009). "Electromaxx Tests 20MW Power Plant". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  11. ^ a b FMO (30 September 2016). "Tororo Solar North Limited". The Hauge: Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO). Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  12. ^ a b YRNC (22 December 2016). "Financial close for the construction of the Tororo Solar North PV power project, Uganda". Yourrenewablenews.com (YRNC). Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  13. ^ a b RNC (21 December 2016). "Building Energy starts construction of 10-MW solar park in Uganda". Rnewablesnow.com (RNC). Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  14. ^ Marks, Jon (15 December 2014). "ERA and GET FiT announce the first 20MW of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) projects to be developed in Uganda". Africa Investment Exchange. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  15. ^ Shumkov, Ivan (21 December 2016). "Building Energy starts construction of 10-MW solar park in Uganda". Renewablesnow.com. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  16. ^ Megan Van Wyngaardt (21 December 2016). "Uganda solar PV project on track". Engineering News South Africa (ENSA). Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  17. ^ Editorial (18 October 2017). "Uganda can reap from solar energy potential". The Observer (Uganda). Kampala. Retrieved 13 June 2018.