Democratic Congo solar thermal power station energy storage system

Solar In addition to hydropower, the DRC possesses significant potential for solar energy, offering a potential of 70 GW with noticeably high solar radiation averaging 6 kWh/m 2 /day.

Despite the DRC's immense endowment of varied renewable energy potential which includes hydroelectric, biomass, solar, wind and geothermal power, the current installed generating capacity is approximately 2,844 MW, providing access to merely 19% of its nearly 85 million-strong population.

The Congo River has the potential to bring up to 100,000 MW of hydropower capacity to the DRC, representing approximately 6% of the global energy potential and 37% of Africa's overall potential.

Wind Meanwhile, potential for wind energy in the DRC is also significant and largely untapped. Offering a potential of 15 GW, with wind speeds averaging 6-6.6m/s throughout the country, there are a number of high potential areas where wind power could be leveraged across the country.

The DRC's energy mix is comprised primarily of hydroelectric power, with the bulk of the country's domestic generation produced from the country's Inga I and Inga II dams located in the Kongo Central Province, boasting an installed capacity of 351 MW and 1,424 MW, respectively, for a combined capacity of 1,775 MW.

Despite the government's efforts to launch programs to develop the hydroelectric sector and exploit the power of the Congo Basin's numerous rivers, the current exploitation rate of these resources remains less than 3%, demonstrating significant, untapped opportunities.