Clean energy developer Camco has secured a $4.7m contract to help install solar systems in Tanzania, as part of what will be the largest rollout of the technology in the country’s history.

The project will see 208kW of solar capcity installed at 45 secondary schools, 10 health centres, 120 dispensaries, municipal buildings, and businesses across 25 village market centres currently without access to the electricity grid in the rural Kigoma region.

Camco will also work to encourage households in the region to create cut-price PV clusters by advising on collective purchasing and installation schemes that aim to maximise economies of scale.

Camco will start installing the panels alongside Rex, a Tanzanian solar contractor, in May this year, with completion scheduled for July 2013. Camco will be paid $1.1m over the 18-month duration, while the remaining $3.6m will go to Rex.

The project is part of the five-year Compact grant extended to Tanzania by the US through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth.

Currently only around 15 per cent of Tanzania’s population has access to electricity, but the country ranks among the world’s top 10 countries for solar irradiation.

Jeff Felten, managing director of Camco Tanzania, said small-scale solar would play an increasingly important role in meeting the growing energy demand.

“We are delighted that the MCC has recognised the positive impact small-scale solar installations can have on rural off-grid communities in Tanzania,” he said.

“While industrialised countries are trying to rethink or refit their old coal-fired plants, much of Africa could potentially leapfrog that stage and move straight to renewable energy generation.”