INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Green Technology
Two solar plants to be
constructed in Senegal
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P
roparco, the International Finance
Corporation (IFC, World Bank Group)
and the European Investment Bank
(EIB) have granted loans totalling EUR 38
million for the construction and operation of
two solar power plants in Senegal. Proparco,
building on the experience acquired
through the financing provided in 2016
for the construction of the Senergy and
Ten Merina solar power plants in Senegal,
coordinated IFC’s and EIB’s interventions in
this operation. Part of IFC’s contribution is
financed by the Finland-IFC Blended Finance
for Climate program.
These two plants, with a total installed
capacity of 80MWp, will be built in the
rural regions of Kahone and Touba in
central Senegal.
Funding is provided by the sponsors
Meridiam and Engie and the Senegalese
sovereign fund Fonsis. These projects are
the first two achievements in Senegal of
the World Bank's Scaling Solar programme,
which aims to promote investments in
renewable energy in emerging markets.
an international call for tenders led by IFC’s
Advisory team under a mandate from the
Government of Senegal.
“With the signing of the funding, Senegal is
once again demonstrating that the Scaling
Solar approach provides record prices by
creating a competitive tender and attracting
world-leading players,” said Aliou Maiga, IFC
Regional Director for West and Central Africa.
“We are pleased that many other countries,
in Africa and beyond, are following this path
and are adopting this model to accelerate
the development of solar energy.”
EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle
added: “The European Investment
Bank is the largest public-sector lender
for climate action. It is supporting the
internationalisation of renewable energies
and is happy to support this global project in
Senegal with Proparco and IFC.
“New investment in renewable energies is key
to economic development and social progress
in Africa, and with this ambitious project,
Senegal is demonstrating the advantages of
investing in clean energies and the impact on
electricity access and costs.”
The Kahone and Touba solar power plants are
expected to provide nearly 600,000 people
with better access to renewable electricity.
These two projects will avoid the emission
of 2.2 million tons of CO 2 over the lifetime
of the installations while producing the
cheapest energy in the country. They thus
contribute to the country's ambitious
objective of increasing the share of
renewable energy in its energy mix. n
"Thanks to the determination of the
Senegalese government, the commitment
of donors such as Proparco and the know-
how of the two French renewable energy
specialists Meridiam and Engie, we are once
again demonstrating the great potential of
solar energy to improve Senegalese access
to clean, renewable and affordable energy"
said Gregory Clemente, Chief Executive
Officer of Proparco.
The two projects are the first ones in Senegal
under the World Bank Group’s Scaling Solar
programme, which was designed to promote
private investments in renewable solar
energy in emerging markets. Following the
approach, the projects were awarded after
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