About

Rift Valley Energy at a Glance

Rift Valley Energy Ltd. (RVE) is a renewable-energy infrastructure development company, dedicated to develop, own and operate renewable energy projects in Eastern and Southern Africa. RVE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rift Valley Corporation, a Zimbabwean headquartered, Sub-Saharan agriculture enterprise with activities in tobacco, timber and agricultural trading.

To date, RVE has made significant progress, establishing a total of 7.4 MW of renewable generation capacity and is operating two rural distribution networks in the Mufindi and Njombe areas, servicing a population of about 60,000 people and over 13,000 households in Southern Tanzanian highlands.

In Tanzania, RVE is currently working on an ambitious project pipeline, including hydro and wind generation as well as rural distribution projects – all at different stages of development. In the Southern Highlands alone, RVE is planning to invest in three more hydro projects and to further expand its recently completed wind project, with an accumulated generation capacity of about 10 MW – and the potential to supply a total of 6,000 rural households with green, grid quality electricity through connected rural distribution networks. To be able to best serve its growing rural customer base, RVE has established its own rural distribution company, Mwenga Power Services Ltd. (MPS). MPS buys electricity from RVE generation units, and onwards sells the electricity under its own brand (Mwenga Power) to its rural customers.

Fully committed to its developmental impact in the region, RVE teamed up with a UK based NGO (Energy 4 Impact) and is currently testing a “Productive Use of Electricity” financing programme.

Through this programme, local small businesses have the opportunity to overcome the financial hurdles, which they often face, when investing in commercial electrical appliances, that potentially can help them to a) generate a better income for their families and b) save the environment through the use of a clean and sustainable energy source (green electricity instead of fossil fuels). RVE also actively promotes electric cooking within its network areas, in order to avoid deforestation and respiratory heath issues for its network community.