ARE Members AVSI & EnGreen Supplies 420 Households with Renewable Energy in DRC
20 September 2021 – A pilot electrification project based on solar and hydroelectric power is being tested in two villages, Kashara and Kimomo, in the island territory of Idjwi in South Kivu in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This project started in April 2021, is materialised thanks to 358 solar panels spread over a location that has all the qualities to become the next central market of Kashara.
The supply will be served by the cash power system and will be left to the Province of South Kivu. This has been made possible thanks to the Congolese and Italian Ministries of Environment and implemented by the NGO AVSI and its implementing partner EnGreen, an Italian company specialised in the delivery of technical solutions for sustainable development.
“This project is a pilot project implemented through cooperation between the Congolese government via the Ministry of the Environment in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of the Environment. 420 households are our direct beneficiaries. In the long run, we want to experiment this elsewhere to see if it will succeed.” said Ms. Ottavia Diletta Magenes, Communication Officer of AVSI Foundation.
For the moment the Province focuses, with the AVSI, to a private company that will take charge of the management and distribution of the generated energy by November 2021.
The mini-grid is composed of a photovoltaic system with storage and a hydroelectric system. This supply will bring the dream of living in the light to reality because their environment has never known a single glimmer of hope in terms of electricity since the dawn of time in its history. The components of this pilot project are expected to last about 25 years, but everything will depend on the company selected to manage it, according to the AVSI.