Ivory Coast gets financing for 37.5 MW solar plant

Germany’s development bank, KfW signed two contracts yesterday with the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Ivory Coast for the financing of a 37.5 MW PV project in Boundiali Department, in the northwestern part of the Ivory Coast.

In a statement to pv magazine, KfW said that through the two contracts, it will provide €36.7 million in funds for the initiative, of which €27 million will come from Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and €9.7 million from the European Union. The project is expected to sell power to local state-owned utility, CIE. Further details were not provided.

Although this is the first big solar park to secure financing in the country, the first PV project being developed there is a 25 MW facility planned for the town of Benguébougou, in the Korhogo department. The project, which secured government approval in May, and is scheduled for completion by the end of this year, is expected to require an investment of XOF 23 billion (US$40.9 million).

The Ivory Coast currently has one of the highest access rates to electricity in Africa, at around 62%. The country also exports power to neighboring countries, such as Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, thanks to its 2.17 GW of installed power generation capacity, 60% of which comes from thermal power plants and 40% from hydropower.

The Ivorian government is planning to meet increasing energy demand by adding around 150 MW per year through IPPs, according to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).