The West African Development Bank (BOAD) is launching the Program for the Promotion of Private Investment in the Solar Energy Sector (PPIPS) to accelerate access to electricity via solar energy. The program, which will cover six West African countries, is co-financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
Good news for solar energy suppliers operating in the UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union) zone. These companies have the opportunity to participate in the Program for the Promotion of Private Investment in the Solar Energy Sector (PPIPS) recently launched by the West African Development Bank (BOAD). According to the sub-regional financial institution based in Lomé, Togo, the program aims to create a favorable framework for private investment in the solar sector, by removing financial and technical barriers to it.
The PPIPS will cover six least developed countries in terms of access to electricity in the WAEMU zone. These are Burkina Faso, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger and Togo. “The public authorities alone are unable to alleviate all the problems arising from this situation, as they do not have sufficient and appropriate financial resources. It is therefore urgent to attract private investors in order to strengthen and diversify the production of clean electricity in the sub-region,” says the WADB.
An investment of 251 million euros
The PPIPS is primarily an investment program. And the WADB intends to devote nearly 165 billion CFA francs, or 251 million euros. In this financing, 40 billion CFA francs (the equivalent of 61 million euros) are provided by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in the form of a loan and a grant. In addition to financing solar energy providers, the program will also provide support to technicians through training, awareness and marketing.
With the PPIPS, BOAD is aiming at an installed solar capacity of 1,192 MW in the six countries benefiting from the program by 2030. According to the development bank, the mechanism should quadruple their solar energy production capacity. The PPIPS joins another program of sub-regional scope.
This is the Desert to Power program implemented in the Sahel countries. This initiative of the African Development Bank (ADB) aims to exploit the potential of this part of Africa known for its arid climate, but very sunny. Desert to Power aims at an installed capacity of 10,000 MW, which will provide access to electricity to 250 million people in Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan.
Source: Jean Marie Takouleu | Afrik21.africa