Burkina Faso: AfDB allocates €48.82 million for a power plant

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has just allocated €48.82 million to Burkina Faso for the construction of a solar plant.

The funding was allocated in the form of a loan to build a 52 MW power plant as part of the bank’s “Desert to Power 2020-2024” initiative. Upon completion, the plant will provide energy to 30,000 households, or about 200,000 people.

The cost of the infrastructure is estimated at €136.69 million. The remaining funds will be mobilized from the French Development Agency, the European Union and the Burkina Faso National Electricity Company (SONABEL).

This project is part of the country’s “Yeleen” solar development program. It involves setting up photovoltaic power plants, developing the electricity distribution network and rural electrification through mini-grids and individual solar installations. The rural part of the initiative targets 150,000 households.

Burkina Faso launched West Africa’s biggest solar farm two years ago. The country produces only about 60 percent of the electricity it consumes — and just 20 percent of the overall population is hooked up to the grid. Many people use wood or butane gas bottles.

Different regions of Burkina Faso have experimented solar panel energy for more than a decade

The country hopes to meet 30 percent of its electricity needs from photovoltaic solar panels by 2030, and — maybe one day — become self-sufficient in electricity production.
Ghana, as well as Côte d’Ivoire, export electricity to the landlocked country to meet its needs.