Benin secures financing for first solar IPP projects

Pan-African conglomerate Axian has entered into a financing agreement for the development of four solar projects with a combined capacity of 62 MW.

The €30 million ($33.5 million) financing package is provided by the International Finance Corporation and Proparco, the private sector financing arm of French public development bank Agence Française de Développement. IFC is also mobilizing resources from the Clean Technology Fund, an international fund dedicated to financing clean technologies in developing countries.

The financing goes toward the IPP50 project, which is billed as Benin’s first independent power producer solar project, covering the construction and operation of four solar projects in the cities of Natitingou, Djougou, Parakou and Bohicon, according to a statement published by Axian.

Once operational, the four plants are expected to generate approximately 110 GWh of electricity annually, equivalent to an increase of around 17% in domestic power generation from 2028 to 2035.

The electricity generated will be sold to Benin’s state-owned electric utility Société béninoise de production d’électricité (SBPE) under long-term power purchase agreements. Commercial operations for each of the plants is targeted in the first quarter of 2028.

Total project costs of the IPP50 project, which forms part of a public-private partnership structured around concession agreements granted by the Benin government, are expected to reach €45 million.

Axian’s statement adds the project also contributes to Benin’s National Energy Compact, which is aiming to provide approximately 928,000 additional households with access to electricity by 2030, raise the national electrification rate to at least 70% and increase the share of renewables to 30% of the power generation mix.

Benjamin Memmi, CEO of AXIAN Group’s Energy division, commented that IPP50 “reflects the ambition of the Beninese authorities to accelerate the country’s energy transition, particularly through strong partnerships with the private sector”. 

Benin’s largest operational PV project is the Illoulofin solar power plant, according to the Africa Solar Industry Association’s (AFSIA) project database, with a capacity of 50 MW built across two phases.