A new 30 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant is due for construction near the town of Pâ, in Burkina Faso and will supply all the electricity it produces to Burkina Faso’s national power utility – La Société National D’électricité Du Burkina Faso (Sonabel).

Urbasolar was selected as the developer and operator following a competitive tender process run by Sonabel, with construction of the plant scheduled to be completed within 18 months.

Located about 250 km southeast of the nation’s capital city of Ouagadougou, the plant will receive 80% of its funding requirement from the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), which is a member of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). Urbasolar is providing the remaining 20% of the project’s capital.

Burkina Faso has a population of nearly 20-million people, with over 40% living below the poverty line. The country has one of the world’s lowest rates of electrification and, because of a shortage of installed energy generation capacity, needs to import electricity from neighbouring States.

However, urbanisation, structural changes to the economy and recent strong gross domestic product growth have increased demand for energy.

Currently relying mainly on fossil fuelled power stations, Burkina Faso has embarked on a programme of attracting private capital and expertise to build renewable energy capacity. The Urbasolar project is one of the first of the new green energy plants.

EAIF is the sole lender to the project, providing €29-million of the estimated €35.4-million development cost. Financial close (the transfer of funds from lender to borrower) is expected by the second quarter of the year.

EAIF’s managers Ninety One investment director Paromita Chatterjee says that harnessing Burkina Faso’s sunshine to improve its future prospects will bring many benefits to the country and make an important contribution to fighting global warming.

“This project is a perfect example of how EAIF’s public-private partnership (PPP) model can have lasting economic, social and environmental impacts, while mobilising private capital and enterprise to create new infrastructure.”

EAIF has now supported 20 renewable energy projects across Africa, investing $350-million worth of loans to private sector developers and thereby bringing Africa 825 MW of clean, renewable energy to the continent.

Urbasolar president Arnaud Mine and Urbasolar West Africa head Emmanuel Kaboré concur that, as a European expert in solar power, the Urbasolar group is conscious of its role in developing this energy source in Africa, notably in Burkina Faso, where the company already operates.

They also say it is Urbasolar's conviction that the solar power sector offers solutions to numerous economic, environmental and social issues.

Therefore, in addition to providing green energy, this project also includes a number of other measures such as education regarding solar technology, the provision of study grants and a microfinancing programme for local women, as well as support for the healthcare system.

Mine and Kaboré note that this project is the result of the willingness of Burkina Faso President Roch Kaboré and the government to increase the country’s energy supply by promoting private investment through PPP.

“We are pleased to be able to work alongside the government and Sonabel to reach the goal of generating 200 MW of energy through solar power plants by 2021, the strategy established by Energy, Mines and Quarries Minister Dr Bachir Ouedraogo.”