Renewvia Energy Plans $750 Million Solar Mini-Grid Expansion Across Africa

Renewvia Energy Corp. has announced a major expansion plan to grow its solar-powered mini-grid business across Africa. The Atlanta-based company plans to invest nearly $750 million to expand into Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Through this initiative, the company aims to create around 2.1 million new electricity connections, helping millions of people who still live without reliable power access.

The company has already started setting up local offices and business entities in the new target countries to support the early stages of development. Renewvia already has experience in the African renewable energy sector and currently operates 24 commercial mini-grids in Kenya and Nigeria. These mini-grid systems provide electricity to rural communities, businesses, and institutions. Its existing customer base includes major organizations such as Shell, UBA Bank, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

One of the key goals of the company’s latest expansion is to improve energy access in refugee settlements. Renewvia is currently seeking around $45 million in concessional financing to support the expansion of its “metro-grid” project in Kakuma and to build a new renewable energy plant in Dadaab. These two locations are among the largest refugee settlements in the world. If the projects move forward successfully, electricity access in these settlements could increase by nearly five times, benefiting more than 550,000 people living in and around the camps.

The expansion comes at a time when Sub-Saharan Africa continues to face a major electricity shortage. According to estimates, nearly 600 million people in the region still do not have access to electricity. In many remote areas, extending national power grids is expensive and time-consuming. Solar-powered mini-grids are increasingly being viewed as a faster and more practical solution for providing clean and reliable energy.

Mini-grids are small, localized energy systems that can power homes, schools, health centers, farms, and small businesses. They are especially useful in rural and underserved communities where large infrastructure projects are difficult to implement. Renewvia believes these systems can play an important role in improving living standards and supporting economic growth across Africa.

However, the company also faces several challenges, including securing long-term financing, dealing with currency risks, and managing different regulatory systems in each country. Renewvia plans to rely heavily on concessional financing from development institutions to support the expansion. Through this large-scale project, the company hopes to contribute to the global “Mission 300” initiative, which targets connecting 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.