UAE-based Amea Power has finalised funding for a major solar-power plant in the Ivory Coast, as it helps address energy needs in West Africa's second-largest economy.
The $72 million, 50 megawatt Bondoukou solar PV project, in the north-eastern Gontougo region, is being financed by the Netherlands' FMO and Germany's DEG, Dubai-based Amea Power said on Wednesday.
The financial close "reflect[s] strong support from international development finance institutions" to help Ivory Coast’s renewable energy ambitions and Amea Power’s strategy to develop projects across Africa, it said.
Construction work, which began this year, has accelerated into the "full execution phase". The project, expected to be up and running in early 2027, will generate about 85G watt hours of clean electricity that would power around 358,000 homes and offset more than 52,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
The company also has an additional 50MW solar PV project in an advanced development stage in the Ivory Coast.
“By progressing early works ahead of financial close and now moving into full-scale execution, we are demonstrating our long-term commitment to the country’s clean energy transition," Amea Power chairman Hussain Al Nowais said.
Africa has nearly 20 per cent of the world’s population but lacks reliable access to power, with countries seeking investment to prop up their energy infrastructure.
The International Energy Agency’s Africa Energy Outlook 2024 estimates about 600 million people lack access to electricity across the continent.
For people who do have regular access, supply is often unreliable and use per person far lower than the global average, according to global energy think tank Ember.
Africa's electricity demand growth has slowed over the past decade but increased by 3.7 per cent last year, catching up with global demand growth of 4 per cent, London-based Ember added.
Clean power is behind 54 per cent of the continent's electricity demand growth in the past five years, with the remaining 46 per cent met with fossil generation, it added.
Amea Power's solar project is expected to support Ivory Coast’s plan to increase the share of renewable energy in the national electricity mix to 45 per cent by 2030, while strengthening energy security and reducing reliance on thermal generation, the statement said.
In addition, construction of the project is expected to create domestic jobs.
Last week, Amea Power reached a deal with the International Finance Corporation and others to build a $700 million solar plant and battery energy storage system in Egypt to meet the country's growing electricity needs.
