The recently formed joint venture between Camco International and Rex Investment Ltd. (RIL) has been awarded a tender to distribute and install solar power systems in rural Tanzania.
In a country where only 15% of the population have access to electricity, the Kigoma project aims to install PV systems at 45 schools, 10 health centres, 120 dispensaries as well as local municipal buildings and businesses.
The tender is issued by the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a US foreign aid agency, working in Tanzania and is worth US$4.7 million; Camco and RIL proved to be the only bidders able to implement the required import and distribution of materials.
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Camco will further encourage households in communities to buy and install solar home systems (SHS) collectively to reduce the overall cost by buying in bulk. Camco has already introduced this “PV cluster” format to other Tanzanian communities.
Jeff Felten, managing director of Camco Tanzania, said: “We are delighted that the MCC has recognized the positive impact small-scale solar installations can have on rural off-grid communities in Tanzania. While industrialized countries are trying to rethink or refit their old coal-fired plants, much of Africa could potentially leapfrog that stage and move straight to renewable energy generation. The MCC’s award of the Kigoma Solar Project to the joint venture partnership between Camco and RIL is an important validation of our unrivalled expertise and experience developing off-grid rural energy projects in Tanzania. In RIL we are pleased to have identified a strong contractor with which to partner and Camco looks forward to working together to further expand the market for solar energy use in Tanzania.”
