Qair & STOA Launch African Joint Venture

• Qair and STOA launch a new joint investment platform for renewable energy in Africa
• MIHIA Holding as the new platform is called is starting with a 24 MW solar power plant in Burkina Faso
• The duo plan to launch more renewable energy projects in Burkina Faso and other regions of Africa

French renewable energy producer Qair has launched a joint investment platform with STOA, called Make It Happen in Africa (MIHIA) Holding to build renewable energy projects in Africa. STOA is an investment holding company of Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD).

MIHIA Holding will focus on solar, wind, hydro and waste-to-energy projects along with electricity storage systems.

Owned by Qair and STOA on a 51:49 basis, MIHIA's maiden project is a 24 MW solar power plant in Burkina Faso on which the company expects to start construction soon with commissioning scheduled for H2/2022. This project will be located in Zano region, in Tenkodogo department, and developed in partnership with a local company called Syscom Network.

Zano Solar Power Plant is expected to play a role in improving Burkina Faso's electricity supply, increase its electrification rate, said Qair, while also set up clean and reliable power generation infrastructure at affordable rates. On completion, it is expected to generate 48,000 MWh with the help of 54,500 solar panels.

The duo expect creation of around 200 jobs during the construction and commissioning process of the 24 MW project, with another 20 permanent jobs in the operation phase.

STOA's Deputy CEO Marie-Laure Mazaud said the partnership will develop more renewable energy projects in Burkina Faso and elsewhere in Africa.

Both the partners stressed on the need for massive investments in low-carbon energy in Africa that deals with unreliable and costly electricity on a daily basis. "This partnership will contribute to the development of a sustainable energy mix and help meet the growing needs of rapidly expanding populations," they added.

There is steadily growing interest among private companies to enter the African renewables market. In June 2021, RP Global joined hands with off-grid solar company Oolu of Senegal to launch a new C&I solar venture in the region calling it westa.solar (see New C&I Solar Systems Joint Venture In West Africa).

Africa is getting ready for 10 GW solar PV capacity planned to be installed by 5 nations under African Development Bank's (AfDB) Desert to Power initiative which recently raised $150 million from the Green Climate Fund (see $150 Million For Desert To Power Initiative).