Zambia-based renewable energy trader Africa GreenCo has signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) to develop a 50-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic project in Kolwezi, Lualaba Province, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The agreement was formalized at the Africa Energy Forum 2026.
The strategic partnership marks a significant step in expanding clean energy infrastructure in the DRC’s mining hub, supporting regional power stability and sustainable industrial growth. The Kolwezi solar project is expected to enhance energy access, reduce carbon emissions, and contribute to the country’s renewable energy targets.
The project will not be developed as a captive power facility. Instead, GreenCo will purchase the electricity generated and sell it on to mining and industrial users in the DRC, applying the creditworthy offtaker and trading model it operates across Southern Africa. By standing between the generator and end users as a bankable buyer, GreenCo intends to give the project the long-term offtake certainty needed to reach financial close, while giving energy-intensive users access to additional, locally generated renewable power.
Kolwezi sits at the centre of the DRC’s copper and cobalt mining region, where demand for reliable power consistently outstrips available supply. By channelling new solar generation to these users, the project is intended to help address the country’s power deficit and to build on GreenCo DRC’s commitment to promoting local power generation.
“The DRC does not have to choose between industrial growth and a reliable, clean power supply. By acting as the creditworthy buyer between a local developer and the mines and industries that need power, we can turn renewable projects into bankable ones and keep that value inside the country. This agreement with SafiriPower is a clear step in GreenCo’s commitment to local generation in the DRC,” said Ana Hajduka, Founder and Group CEO, Africa GreenCo.
SafiriPower, a renewable energy developer focused on electrifying industrial operators in the DRC, will lead development of the project as part of it’s responsibilities under the JDA, GreenCo will help the project’s bankability by providing the bankable PPA and ensure the energy is efficiently transported over the grid to the end consumers. This will require formalizing a wheeling agreement with SNEL, further strengthening our existing engagement and collaboration with the leading transmission system operator in the DRC. The project has a planned commercial operations date (COD) in the second quarter of 2028.
“SafiriPower has focused from the outset on bringing bankable, long-term renewable power to industries in the DRC. Partnering with GreenCo as offtaker allows us to match the projects we develop with a creditworthy route to market, which is what gets these projects built,” Jules Ndambu, CEO, SafiriPower
