The first phase of a solar power plant in the northern part of the Ivory Coast has been inaugurated.
Financing for the solar power plant in Boundiali was first announced in 2018, while commissioning plans were shared in December 2022. The 37.5 MW facility, billed as the country’s first major solar array, will sell electricity to Compagnie Ivoirienne d’Electricité, a utility in the country.
The second phase of development has also started at the solar plant, which is expected to be completed by April 2025. The project, which has a total cost of €75.6 million ($81.8 million), is expected to power 70,000 homes, saving 60,000 tons of CO2 equivalent per year. It is creating more than 300 direct and indirect jobs during construction.
The project is part of efforts to diversify electricity production in the Ivory Coast. The country aims to increase the share of renewable energy in its electricity mix to 45% by 2030, including hydroelectricity.
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In February, the government signed a concession agreement for a new 52 MW solar plant, with construction set to begin in the second quarter of this year. Ivorian Energy Minister Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly has also revealed plans to expand the capacity of the Boundiali plant to 80 MW.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Ivory Coast had 46 MW of installed solar at the end of 2023.
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Such an article is really despicable and makes me angry.
Indeed while it is good news that a former state utility goes renewables and has understood that solar is one of the cheapest energy sources in absolute terms, the article itself is typical of a eurocentric if not colonialist perspective.
No such article looking at a large power plant in any European country would omit telling the exact place where the plant is going to be built, or, at least, name the region. Instead, CIE and Côte d’Ivoire are mentioned as if it were some remote area whose details are not interesting… in a country with almost 31 million inhabitants, 3rd largest in population in Africa, with one of Africa’s highest growth rates!
Hey Pat, the article says the plant is located in Boundiali.