Global Energy Transfer Feed-in Tariff (GET-FiT)

Start & End Date: 2013-Ongoing

Country/Countries: Uganda

Multilateral Institution(s) Involved: World Bank

Despite enormous potential for small renewable energy generation, Uganda has faced severe power supply shortages in the past. Since most of Uganda’s power is currently generated from large hydropower plants along river Nile, the country is heavily dependent on the water levels of Lake Victoria and hence very vulnerable to changes in rainfall patterns. Despite potential for renewable energy generation and interest of the private sector to invest, only few small scale renewable projects were developed in Uganda before 2012. Reasons for this were insufficient financial incentives (low renewable energy feed in tariff), perceived high economic and political risks, lack of bankable project documents (most importantly Power Purchase Agreement and Implementation Agreements) and consequently lack of access to debt and equity financing for project developers.

The GET FiT Program is designed to comprehensively address these issues and leverage private investment into renewable energy generation projects in Uganda. This is done with three components: a premium payment on top of the Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff (REFiT), a Partial Risk Guarantee provided by the World Bank and technical assistance to improve the legal and regulatory framework. The target is to use the available EUR 90 million in grant funding to leverage about USD 500 million in private investments into the sector; a leverage ratio of 1:5. By introducing multiple renewable energy sources, dependency on the Nile is reduced and the electricity supply becomes less vulnerable to climate change. This is achieved not only by introducing new renewable technologies (biomass, bagasse, solar PV), but also by supporting small hydro power developments in different parts of the country – so that regional weather patterns do not have so much of an impact on power supply. The GET FiT Programme improves the framework conditions for investments into renewable energies in Uganda, thereby effectively facilitating private investments into 170 MW of renewable energies.

Since the inception of GET FiT Uganda in 2013, 17 small power plants have been developed under the Programme thus setting a track record for successful private investments in the Ugandan power sector. Additional private investments in smallscale renewable energy that make use of the standardised PPAs developed under the Programme are further evidence that GET FiT has had a sustainable impact on the sector. GET FiT Uganda continues to have a positive impact on job creation. With three projects still under construction in 2020, about 910 workers have been employed through these projects during the year. Moreover, the fourteen operational GET FiT power plants have employed approximately 470 staff throughout the past year. This brings the total amount of direct job creation to approximately 11,730 (Full Time Equivalent – FTE) since inception of the Programme in 2013. Furthermore, there is significant indirect job creation due to, for example, local economic growth. Around 90% of the workers are Ugandan employees. The total portfolio installed capacity has remained at 122.4 MW since 2019, with no additional GET FiT projects commissioned in 2020. The installed capacity is split between 11 small hydropower projects, totalling 82.4 MW installed capacity, two solar projects with a total installed capacity of 20 MWp and one bagasse co-generation project with 20 MW of installed capacity.