Burkina Faso

The African Development Bank last year disclosed a plan to install 10 GW of solar in the deserts of the Sahel. A recent summit held in Burkina Faso may have brought the ambitious project a step closer.

The 21st Africa Energy Forum, this year in Lisbon, kicked off yesterday and will run until Friday. The meeting offers an insight into the continent’s energy markets.

State-owned utility Sonabel is seeking proposals for a 20 MW solar power plant in Boulkiemdé province and a 10 MW facility in the Sanmatenga area. Interested developers have time until February 28 to submit project proposals.

The 25 MW project is planned for the town of Benguébougou, in the Korhogo department, in the north of the west African nation.

The power plant will sell electricity to Iamgold’s Essakane Mine – an off-grid gold mine located 330 kilometers northeast of Burkina Faso‘s capital city, Ouagadougou.

All of the eight projects, planned for seven different regions, will be awarded a declaration of public utility. The new facilities are expected to improve the country’s power supply, which still relies heavily on fossil fuels and imports.

The country’s largest solar facility was officially inaugurated in the presence of French president Emmanuel Macron. The project was financed by France’s Development Agency (AFD) and the European Union.

The African financial institution plans to help Burkina Faso electrify Northern Dorsal Africa through solar power plants alongside with smaller projects such as solar pumps and lamps in rural areas.

The PV panel manufacturing facility is being built by local company Faso Energy with the support of the country’s government and Spanish equipment provider Mondragon.

The solar farm will be added and synchronized with an existing oil driven power plant. The hybrid power plant will serve a local gold mine, saving 18,500t CO2 emissions annually.