Virunga

A 100MW portfolio of run-of-river hydroelectric power and rural distribution projects to provide improved energy access for nearly 10 million people across four countries.

Ambitious plans to develop a 100MW* portfolio of hydroelectric power and rural distribution projects in East and Southern Africa – which will provide improved energy access for up to 10 million people when fully completed – have been given a helping hand in the form of a USD 2.5m convertible loan from REPP.

Virunga Power had been raising investment to fund its corporate expansion and project development expenses after building up an advanced pipeline of run-of-river projects in Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.

REPP committed the loan during the company’s Series A corporate financing round in December 2018, with the EU-funded Electrification Financing Initiative (ElectriFI) providing the other USD 2.5m.

The funds are enabling Virunga Power to deliver on its project pipeline of hydroelectric projects, connect thousands of Zambians to its district-sized grid in the country, and conduct early-stage development on multiple large-scale distribution concession opportunities.

Virunga Power employs a unique “grid-as-anchor” approach to rural electrification by combining MW-scale, contracted generation with thousands of new household connections to surrounding communities through grid-connected mini-grids.

This is not the first time REPP has supported Virunga Power. In June 2017 REPP committed USD 751,000 in development capital for a pair of run-of-river hydropower plants in Kenya with a combined generating capacity of 15MW.

* This figure is only expected to be reached post-2023. The first plant is expected to reach financial close in 2023 with approximately 11MW generating capacity.

Funding structure

Contracted date: 13 December 2018

Lending type: Convertible loan

REPP funding: USD 2.5m

 

We are very excited to have ElectriFI and REPP on board as investors in our platform. It is very important to us to have investors who are aligned with our goals of expanding sustainable and practical electricity infrastructure across the continent, and we welcome the experience and acceleration that these investors can bring to our mission.
- Brian Kelly, Founder and CEO of Virunga Power
Technology:

Run-of-river hydro

Run-of-river hydroelectric power
Project type:

Grid-connected and off-grid

Offtaker:

Multiple

Location:

Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia

ARC Power mini-grids in Rwanda provide clean energy solution

Greenhouse gas emissions avoided: 223,000 tonnes CO2e per year

Improves stability of grid supply

Planned capacity: 100MW*

Relevant SDGs
Country policy alignment

Project supports all countries' NDC targets to reduce GHG emissions by 2030. It contributes towards Burundi’s 2040 national target of adding 238MW hydropower (Master Plan 2018) and the objectives of Kenya’s National Energy Policy (2018), which includes the development of small hydro, as well as Tanzania’s Vision 2025 objective to develop its energy infrastructure and Zambia’s National Energy Policy (2019) objective of diversifying the country’s energy mix.