The 70.5 million euro project will be constructed at Zagtouli on the outskirts of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, where it will be operated by the national electricity utility Sonabel. The new plant is expected to act as a benchmark for future solar investment across the continent. Once operational, it will significantly increase power generation in Burkina Faso, reducing dependence on energy imports from the Ivory Coast and Ghana and preventing power cuts.
Currently, less than a quarter of Burkina Faso’s inhabitants are estimated to have access to electricity. In recent years power demand in the country has increased annually by ten percent. However, power cuts and limited electricity access have seriously hindered economic growth.
The 20 year loan agreement for the 30MW facility was signed at the EIB’s headquarters by Lucien Bembamba, Minister of Economy and Finance for the Republic of Burkina Faso, and Pim van Ballekom, EIB Vice President responsible for lending in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific. Also present were Jean-Christophe Ilboudo, Director General of Sonabel and Frederic Korsaga, Ambassador of Burkina Faso.
“The European Investment Bank is a strong partner for Burkina Faso and this close cooperation over many years has enabled significant investment in new water and energy infrastructure that has created jobs across the country” said Lucien Bembamba, Minister of Economy and Finance for the Republic of Burkina Faso. “The new support agreed today for investment by Sonabel in renewable energy is an importance milestone in the long-standing cooperation between Burkina Faso and Europe.”
Pim van Ballekom, EIB vice-president, added that the bank is committed to supporting energy investment that will improve lives across Africa. The significant support for the new solar farm builds on the EIB’s strong partnership over many years with Sonabel.
The agreement for financing the project follows detailed feasibility studies to evaluate local energy needs and strengthen project implementation supported by the European Union (EU). The project has been supported from the start by the EU delegation in Ouagadougou which has worked closely with Sonabel. Alongside the EIB financing, the French Development Agency and the EU have also helped to fund the project which will see over a hundred jobs created its construction phase.
The EIB is one of the world’s largest financiers of renewable energy and energy infrastructure. In recent years the bank has supported rehabilitation of power plants in Liberia, electricity interconnections across West Africa, concentrated solar power in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa’s largest wind farm in Lake Turkana in Kenya. Since its first operation in Burkino Faso in 1970, EIB has also provided nearly 200 million euros for investment energy, transport and water projects, as well as by local companies.
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