Besides the efforts to enforce rural electrification by small to micro PV stand alone systems, the option to support the growing nationwide electricity supply system is considered e.g. in the state of Rwanda. Following a first system rated 250kW installed in 2007, systems in the MW range are now under construction. To support this development, knowledge on the expected operation conditions for these systems, partly distinctly different from those in Europe that shaped the current design and performance analyses schemes is needed. As respective step step, this paper gives a comparison of the irradiance and temperature condition governing the PVsystem operation in Kigali, Rwanda and Stuttgart, Germany, standing for mid-European conditions. Differences in the performance ratio of systems at both locations - as assessed by system simulation - are discussed.