LONDON,
United Kingdom, March 15, 2021/ -- The West African country of Burkina
Faso is to get a new large-scale renewable energy plant, it was
announced today, 15th March. Located some 250km south east of
the nation’s capital city of Ouagadougou, near the town of Pâ, the new
solar energy plant will supply all the electricity it produces to
Burkina Faso’s national power utility, La Société National D’électricité
Du Burkina Faso (SONABEL).
The Emerging Africa Infrastructure
Fund (EAIF), a member of the Private Infrastructure Development Group
(PIDG) is lending the project’s developer, Urbasolar SAS, 80% of the
capital needed for the construction of the new 30MW facility. 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.
Paromita Chatterjee, an Investment Director at EAIF’s managers, Ninety One, says;
“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 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. It has
invested US$350 million of loans to private sector developers, bringing
Africa 825MW of clean, renewable energy.
Commenting on
the project, Arnaud Mine, president of Urbasolar and Emmanuel Kaboré,
Urbasolar Regional Head – West Africa, said;
“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
we already operate. 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
program for local women, as well as support for the healthcare system.
“This
project is the result of the willingness of the Burkinabé president,
Rock Marc Christian KABORE, and the government to increase the country’s
energy supply by promoting private investment through public-private
partnership. We are pleased to be able to work alongside the government
and the national energy utility, SONABEL, to reach the goal of
generating 200 MW of energy via solar power plants by 2021, the strategy
established by Dr Bachir Ismael OUEDRAOGO, Minister of Energy, Mines
and Quarries.
“EAIF's experience in the renewable energy sector
in Africa is a considerable asset for developers like Urbasolar. We are
pleased to share our own values of Sustainable Development and to
collaborate with EAIF on this project, which demonstrates our shared
goal of long-term infrastructure development in rapidly developing
regions.”
Burkina Faso has a population of nearly 20 million
people. Over 40% of people live below the poverty line. The country has
one of the world’s lowest rates of electrification. Because of a
shortage of installed energy generation capacity, Burkina Faso needs to
import electricity from neigbouring states. Urbanisation, structural
changes to the economy and recent strong GDP growth have increased
demand for energy. Currently relying mainly on fossil fueled power
stations, the country 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. Around 280MW
is expected to be commissioned over the next three years.
Urbasolar
was selected as the developer following a competitive tender process
run by SONABEL. Urbasolar will build and operate the plant and
construction is forecast to be completed within 18 months.
Established
in France in 2006, Urbasolar has installed over 650 PV plants and
currently operates solar plants of over 900MW. Urbasolar is provding 20%
of the project’s capital. It is the majority shareholder in the Pâ
facility. A minority stake is held by Project Production Solaire (PPS).
Founded as a specialist renewable energy and energy efficiency business
in 2010 by a group of Burkinabé engineers, PPS operates in Burkina Faso
as well as Togo, Ivory Coast and Benin.
In July 2019, Urbasolar was acquired by AXPO, a Swiss utility and Switzerland’s largest producer of renewable energy.
Technical information
Ground-mounted
photovoltaic power plant with a total peak power of 29,967.84 KWp. The
PV modules are installed on fixed structures with an inclination of 15°
and oriented South. The Project includes string inverters and
monocrystalline modules. The plant will be connected to the grid via a
2km cable to a nearby sub-station.
Advisers to the lenderInternational Legal Counsel | : | Clifford Chance Europe LLP | Local Legal Counsel | : | SCP Yanogo Bobson | Lenders Technical Advisor “LTA” | : | 3E Renewable Energy Services (Pty) Ltd | Lenders advisor for construction monitoring | : | 3E Renewable Energy Services (Pty) Ltd | Lenders Insurance Advisor | : | INDECS Consulting Ltd | E&S Advisor | : | Antea Group, France |
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