DR Congo

President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo has laid the structure rock for a substantial, 1 GW Kinshasa Solar City photovoltaic or pv project aimed at boosting the capital's power supply.

Equatorial Power and SustainSolar are mounting containerized, off-grid solar battery power systems to support farming projects on an island in Lake Kivu.

The government of the Tshopo province has signed an agreement with Cat Projects Africa for the PV plant. The project will be connected to the grid operated by utility Société nationale d’électricité and is intended to improve power supply in provincial capital Kisangani.

A report by the Powering Peace organization states UN missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo could reduce expense and pollution by using off-grid solar to power operations instead of diesel generators. Adding a 200 kW solar system with 200 kW/450 kWh of energy storage would reduce diesel consumption 80% for 10-year savings of almost $2.6 million, states the group.