Construction works for phase 1 of a 600 megawatts photovoltaic plant in the Menkao district of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo has was launched on Tuesday, 18 August 2020.

It was launched by His Excellency President Felix Tshisekedi as part of the country’s global solar energy plan called Kinshasa Solar City. By building many solar plants that can generate up to 1,000 megawatts of electricity, it aims to increase the stake of solar power in DRC’s energy mix.

Phase one is expected to be finalised by 2021 and 90% of the employees of the plants will be locals. The initiative is being led by Sun Plus, the local subsidiary of Washington-based conglomerate TSG.

The project is being developed by TSG in partnership with the City of Kinshasa and the national utility company, Société Nationale d’Electricité. It aims to provide electricity in areas of the country with little or no access to power.

Solar power is one of the areas of diversification that has been looked into by the Congolese government to increase economic growth and to provide universal access to power by 2030, alongside hydrocarbon exploration and hydroelectric projects.

During the launch, the Governor of Kinshasa, Gentiny Ngobila said: “The official launch of construction work on the solar power plant in the city of Kinshasa commits the country to another energy path which nature has graciously given us.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo has reserves of petroleum, natural gas, coal and a potential hydroelectric power generating capacity of around 100,000 MW. The Inga Dam on the Congo River is said to have the potential of generating up to 40,000 to 50,000 megawatts of electric power, which is enough to supply the entire Southern Africa region.

Earlier this month, the Chinese and Spanish developers of the Inga III Hydropower project formed a single consortium. The dam will generate 11,050 megawatts mainly for South Africa, other African countries and Congo’s copper and cobalt miners.