Rwanda will become the first East African country with a utility-scale solar plant.

The $24 million plant will be constructed outside the country’s capital, Kigali. Gigawatt Global and Energiya Global will construct the solar power plant and provide seed funding and strategic guidance.

Rwanda currently has a power capacity of just over 100 megawatts for over 11 million people, many of which don’t have access to electricity. The country is expected to increase its power generation by at least 8% by the end of the year. This should ease pressure on Rwanda’s Energy Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA).

Currently, a large portion of Rwanda’s electricity is generated by hydropower schemes, however it is also heavily dependent on diesel generation. The Rwandan government aims to give half of its population electricity by 2017.

The electricity produced by the plant will be sold to the Rwandan government according to a 25-year purchase agreement with between EWSA and the investors. Funding will be provided by investors including the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) and Norfund, a Norwegian development body.

The CEO of Energiya Global, Yosef Abramowitz, hopes that the project will demonstrate the commercial viability of solar plants in Africa.

The Rwandan government is reportedly keen on investing in renewable energy and EWSA is currently conducting studies on the construction of a 10 MW solar plant in Rwinkwavu.