CFA 165 Billion Solar Program For 6 African Nations

• BOAD has announced PPIPS program to encourage adoption of solar energy in 6 West African nations
• By 2030, the target is to have 1.192 GW solar power capacity to be installed in Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger and Togo
• BOAD, GCF and other stakeholder funded project will create a favorable framework to mobilize private investment in solar energy sector

The West African Development Bank (BOAD) has unveiled a CFA 165 billion ($257 million) Program for the Promotion of Private Investments in the Solar Energy Sector (PPIPS) to enable 1.19 GW solar capacity to be realized in 6 'least advanced' West African nations by 2030.

Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger and Togo are identified as the 6 target West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) nations where this program is expected to create a favorable framework to mobilize private investment in solar energy sector, thereby removing financial and technical barriers for its proliferation.

Under the program, private sector players will be provided technical and financial support to capitalize on the solar energy production potential of the target nations with an innovative financing approach.

Expanding their solar energy capacity, these countries will be able to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels while becoming self-dependent in power production.

The 6 nations have been identified for this program since these are 'facing real energy security' due to low production and heavy dependence on expensive fossil fuels. Private sector investment is needed since government resources aren't enough to deal with the situation that's also restricting their sustainable development.

According to BOAD, at the start of the program, solar represented only 5% of the region's energy mix, but by 2030 with 1.192 GW, its share would quadruple.

Both BOAD and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) have contributed CFA 40 billion ($62 million) each to the program, and local financial institutions and private sector will add another CFA 83.96 billion ($or 50% of the total project cost.

Back in 2019 when BOAD initially announced the PPIPS program, it said this will benefit about 2.9 million people in these countries.

Desert to Power (DtP) project of the African Development Bank (AfDB) is also pursuing another regional solar energy project for Africa, aiming to develop 10 GW utility scale solar capacity across G5 Sahel nations of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger (see $379.6 Million For Desert To Power).