Africa’s Gabon To Host 50 MW Solar Power Project

• Gabon's Greater Libreville region is set to become host to a 50 MW solar power plant
• It will be built by French IPP Total Eren under a MoU signed with the Energy Ministry
• Project is to be constructed and connected by Total Eren to the grid of Seeg

The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources in Africa's Gabon has secured France's Total Eren to construct a 50 MW solar power plant in Greater Libreville region under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed.

According to local media reports, independent power producer (IPP) Total Eren will construct and commission the project to be connected to the grid of state owned energy and water company Société d'énergie et de l'eau du Gabon (Seeg).

The 50 MW solar power project will help the country diversify its energy generating sources, while switching over to clean energy, and meeting the growing demand from households and industry, according to the Energy Minister Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze.

According to Afrik21, currently Gabon has a total installed power generation capacity of 750 MW, with natural gas as having the largest share with 50%.

In August 2018, another French energy player Engie's subsidiary Ausar Energy was reported to be working on deploying 8 hybrid solar power plants in Gabon (see Gabon To Host 8 Hybrid PV Plants).

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), till the end of 2020, Gabon's total installed renewable energy capacity was 333 MW, comprising 330 MW of hydroelectric projects and expected capacity of 1 MW of solar power.

In December 2020, Total Eren and Greentech signed a MoU with the Angolan Energy Ministry in Africa for a 35 MW solar power plant (see 35 MW Solar PV Project Coming Up In Angola).