ZT Energy, the UAE based Joint Venture Company formed by Z-One Holding of Dubai and Egypt, and Tryba Energy of France, has signed through their local company called Emerging Power Uganda Limited (EPU), a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL).
The PPA was signed and sealed on Wednesday April 19th, 2017, at the offices of UETCL in Kampala. The sealing of the Implementation Agreement with the Ugandan Ministry of Energy & Mineral Development, also followed on May 5th, 2017.
The project will be built in Bufulubi, village of the Mayuge District in the Busoga Kingdom of Uganda, where EPU leased a 100-acre land directly from the Kingdom.
This agreement is very different from any other signed in Uganda, as it does not take advantage of the GET FIT program. The agreement was signed at the Feed In Tariff of 11 US cents per KWh without any additional fees covered by the GET FIT Program and that will remain fixed for the entire PPA period. The agreement thus provides the lowest fee that a solar developer is to be paid in Uganda.
ZT Energy is very proud of this achievement which took a lot of effort and a long time to close due to many difficulties that one faces when being an independent developer operating completely on their own. The project will use the latest technology available on the market with a tracking system that will allow the solar panels to follow the sun, the first one of its kind in Uganda and the largest in East Africa.
The power plant will increase the electrification of the country by being directly connected to the grid of the region, which covers both rural and residential areas, as well as the industrial area of Jinja, widely known as the source of the White Nile River. Connectivity designs were adequately modified to suit the requirements of the local electricity distributor UMEME.
The project is closing its financials and starting construction, as all pertinent matters are in their final stages.
Local jobs will be created on a long-term basis as the agreement is for a 20-year period.