Work is underway on a 50 MW solar project in the Ivory Coast.
The country’s Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy, Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly, laid the first stone of the plant during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Kong solar project, located in the Tchologo region in the north of the Ivory Coast.
The solar plant, with an investment value in excess of CFA 37 billion ($65.3 million), is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2027. It is being constructed by Ivorian company Africavia in partnership with Infraco Africa, a unit of U.K.-based Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), and Axian Energy.
Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony, Africavia representative and President of the Kong Solar Group, Minkaila Salami, said that over 88,000 solar modules will be installed as part of this project.
Salami added that the project is part of a national strategy for diversification of energy sources. “We’ve also preserved the local content, carrying some of the equity investment, which allows us to keep some of the shareholders,” he said.
The Kong solar plant is one of twelve projects that the Ministry of Mines, Oil, and Energy first announced in April 2024 as part of plans to deploy 678 MW of solar by 2030. The ministry’s latest update has extended the target for the end of the decade to 1,044 MW of solar plants, as it works towards increasing the share of renewable energy in its electricity mix to 45% within the same timeframe.
In February, the UAE’s Amea Power began building a 50 MW solar project in northeastern Ivory Coast, while Ivorian developer Tongon Solaire entered into an agreement for a 52 MW solar plant in August.
In June, a joint venture company between Egypt’s Infinity and Abu Dhabi-based Masdar signed development contracts for two solar plants in the Ivory Coast with a combined capacity of 80 MW after submitting the lowest tariffs from an independent power producer recorded in West and Central Africa to date.
The Ivory Coast currently has 58.2 MW of operational solar, as well as a further 149 MW under construction, according to the Africa Solar Industry Association’s (AFSIA) project database.
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