Is there a lack of capital for power projects in the DRC?

Overall there is a lack of capital for power projects in the DRC, which is more severe when it comes to mini-grid projects marked by high perceived risks. There are barely 2,000 connections (household and non-residential consumers) in the three target towns currently.

How difficult is it to develop a bankable energy project in DRC?

All these circumstances combined, it is extremely challenging to develop a bankable energy project in the DRC market. Green mini-grid led by private sector is a solution with high potential but the concept and business model needs to be tested to give comforts to most of the investors including debt financiers.

How many inter-provincial grids are there in Congo?

There are only three inter-provincial grids in the West (Central Congo and Kinshasa), East (North and South Kivu), and South (Haut-Katanga, Lualaba) of the country (Figure 3 and Figure 4).

How does the government manage energy projects?

The government has recently established a dedicated unit for coordination and management of energy projects, especially off-grid and mini-grids, however the unit has insufficient capacity to drive projects through the process of investment to financial close and commissioning.

What is a multi-stage energy allocation problem?

The first sub-problem is called the multi-stage energy allocation problem, which aims to optimize the green energy usages at different time slots to accommodate the temporal dynamics of the green energy generation and the mobile traffic.

How will emissions reduction contribute to achieving DRC's commitment?

The emissions reduction will directly contribute to attain the DRC’s commitment outlined in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to reduce emissions by 70 MtCO2eq/year by 2030 with appropriate international assistance as compared to the BAU (430 MtCO2eq in 2030).