By Kemo Cham
Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) has handed over its third completed solar-powered mini-grid project in Sierra Leone, with the commissioning of the Kassirie Mini Grid project which is set to supply reliable electricity to previously underserved communities.
Kassirie is a town located in the northern Kambia district. The commissioning ceremony took place on Monday, 20th January.
The solar-powered mini-grid project is being implemented under the Universal Energy Facility (UEF), which is a multi-donor results-based finance (RBF) programme managed by SEforALL.
The Kassirie project comprises 67kW of solar and 204kWh of battery power to deliver clean, reliable and sustainable electricity to 54% of households, businesses, and public institutions within the community, according to a statement issued by SEforALL, which was shared with ManoReporters. It says that the project will directly benefit thousands of people across the community that were previously and entirely dependent on fossil fuel generators for its power needs.
The Sierra Leone government was represented at the commissioning event by Kandeh Yumkella, Energy Sector Lead and Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security (PI-CREF), who noted that the project’s benefit goes beyond just providing electricity as it would transform Kassirie and Kambia District in general by powering homes, schools, and healthcare facilities with clean, reliable energy.
“It’s not just about electricity, it’s about creating opportunities, improving healthcare, enhancing education, and empowering communities to thrive,” Yumkella said.
The government and its partners say adoption of renewable energy complements its Energy Transition and Green Growth Plan, noting that the Kassirie project, which was implemented in collaboration with Power Leone, the local subsidiary of Energicity Corporation, one of West Africa’s leading renewable energy utility, will contribute significantly to efforts to improve energy access and support rural economic development.
The UEF was established to accelerate and scale up energy access across Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond, in line with SDG7 and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. It provides catalytic grant financing to clean energy companies deploying various energy solutions and providing verified end-user electricity connections (via mini-grids and stand-alone solar systems) and clean cooking solutions.
SEforALL, an independent organization which is hosted by UNOPS, with a global mandate to accelerate progress on the energy transition in emerging and developing countries, manages the UEF and collaborate with governments and partners worldwide with the goal of ending energy poverty, accelerating the deployment of renewable energy solutions, and combat climate change.
The organizations say that the commissioning of the Kassirie mini-grid project underscored the broader momentum for rural electrification in Sierra Leone, citing the recently announced commitment of EUR 20 million in financing from the European Union Delegation to support the Sierra Leone Government’s Results-Based Financing mechanism to be administered through SEforALL. This funding, they note, is poised to electrify 35,000 rural households and businesses, enabling transformative change in underserved communities.
“The Kassirie mini-grid project highlights how donor funding can serve as a catalyst for transformative change,” said Anita Otubu, Senior Director of the Universal Energy Facility.
“By supporting infrastructure development in unelectrified communities, initiatives like this directly improve lives, providing reliable electricity that drives economic growth, enhances public services such as healthcare and education, and fosters long-term resilience,” she added.
Otubu expressed appreciation to UEF’s funders, singling out the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), European Union Delegation and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for their “invaluable support” to the initiative.
