Development lender announces 30 MW Burkina Faso solar project

Burkina Faso’s race to reach 200 MW of solar capacity this year has been boosted by the announcement this morning of plans for another 30 MW project near the town of Pâ, 250km southeast of Ouagadougou.

The facility will be 80% financed by a €29 million loan from the London-based Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) which is financed by the governments of the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and the U.K.

The balance will be provided by the developer, Montpellier-based renewables business Urbasolar SAS, which is owned by Swiss energy group Axpo. Urbasolar was selected as developer after a tender held by the energy offtaker for the project, Burkinabe state-owned electric utility La Société Nationale d’électricité du Burkina Faso.

A press release issued by African PR company APO Group this morning–on behalf of the multilateral non-profit Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) of which the EAIF is a member–stated the Pâ plant would help the West African nation reach the 200 MW, 2021 solar target set by Burkinabe minister of energy, mines and quarries, Bachir Ismaël Ouedraogo.

The press release stated financial close on the funding is expected “by the second quarter” and construction is expected to require 18 months, although no date was given for the start of building of a project it is estimated will cost €35.4 million. The project will feature monocrystalline panels and string inverters.

The APO Group statement said Burkina Faso is anticipating 280 MW of new renewable energy capacity to be installed over the next three years.

London-based PIDG is financed by the International Finance Corp private-sector arm of the World Bank and the governments of the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, Switzerland, Germany and the U.K.