Burkina Faso to receive large-scale Renewable Energy Plant

By Abdul Rahman Bangura–

Photo Credit: Climate action

NEW AFRICA BUSINESS NEWS (NABN) Freetown, Sierra Leone– Published on Monday March 15th, 2021, Burkina Faso is to obtain a new large-scale renewable energy plant, Located some 250km South-East of the country’s capital city of Ouagadougou, close to the town of Pâ. The new solar energy plant will provide all the electricity it delivers to Burkina Faso’s national power utility, La Société National D’électricité Du Burkina Faso (SONABEL).

The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), is a member of the Private Infrastructure Development Group project is entrusting the project’s developer, Urbasolar SAS, 80% of the capital required for the construction of the new 30MW facility. EAIF is the sole lender to the project, providing €29 million of the estimated €35.4 million development cost. Financial close (the transfer of funds from lender to borrower) is expected by the second quarter of the year.

Paromita Chatterjee, an Investment Director at EAIF’s managers, Ninety One, says; “Harnessing Burkina Faso’s sunshine to improve its futurists will bring many benefits to the country and make an important contribution to fighting global warming. This project is a perfect example of how EAIF’s public private partnership model can have lasting economic, social and environmental impacts while mobilizing private capital and enterprise to create new infrastructure.”

EAIF has now funded twenty renewable energy projects across Africa. It has subsidized $350 million of loans to private sector developers, bringing Africa 825MW of clean, renewable energy.

Remarking on the project, Arnaud Mine – President of Urbasolar and Emmanuel Kaboré, Urbasolar Regional Head – West Africa, stated; “As a European expert in solar power, the Urbasolar group is conscious of its role in
developing this energy source in Africa, notably in Burkina Faso, where we already operate. It is Urbasolar’s conviction that the solar power sector offers solutions to numerous economic, environmental and social issues. Therefore, in addition to providing green energy, this project also includes a number of other measures such as
education regarding solar technology, the provision of study grants and a micro financing program for local women, as well as support for the healthcare system.

“This project is the result of the willingness of the Burkinabé President, Rock Marc Christian Kabore, and the government to increase the country’s energy supply by promoting private investment through public-private partnership. We are pleased to be able to work alongside the government and the national energy utility, SONABEL, to reach the goal of generating 200 MW of energy via solar power plants by 2021, the strategy established by Dr Bachir Ismael OUEDRAOGO, Minister of Energy, Mines and Quarries.

“EAIF’s experience in the renewable energy sector in Africa is a considerable asset for developers like Urbasolar. We are pleased to share our own values of Sustainable Development and to collaborate with EAIF on this project, which demonstrates our shared goal of long-term infrastructure development in rapidly developing regions.”

Burkina Faso virtually has a population 20 million people. Over 40% of the people, live below the poverty line. The nation has one of the world’s lowest rates of electrification. Thus, a shortage of installed energy generation capacity, Burkina Faso desires to import electricity from neighboring states. Urbanization, structural modifications to the economy and recent strong GDP growth have improved yearning for energy. Presently, relying largely on fossil fueled power stations, the country has embarked on a programme of enticing private capital and expertise to build renewable energy capacity. The Urbasolar project is one of the first of the new green energy plants. Around 280MW is expected to be commissioned over the next three years.

Urbasolar was selected as the developer following a competitive tender process run by SONABEL. Urbasolar will build and operate the plant and construction is predicted to be finalized within eighteen months.

Established in France in 2006, Urbasolar has installed over 650 PV plants and now regulates solar plants of over 900MW. Urbasolar is contributing 20% of the project’s capital. It is the majority shareholder in the Pâ facility. A few stake is held by Project Production Solaire (PPS). Founded as a specialist renewable energy and energy efficiency business in 2010 by a group of Burkinabé engineers, PPS operates in Burkina Faso as well as Togo, Ivory Coast and Benin.

In July 2019, Urbasolar was acquired by AXPO, a Swiss utility and Switzerland’s largest producer of renewable energy.

For New Africa Business News (NABN) Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent