‘Desert to Power Initiative’ to Provide Solar Electricity to Sahel Region

Tapping in the vast solar energy potential of the region, the initiative is slated to provide green electricity including in some of the world’s poorest countries.

In a bid to eradicate energy poverty for 250 million people in the Sahel region of Africa, the African Development Bank (AfDB) is spearheading the ‘Desert to Power Initiative’ aimed at providing 10 GW of electricity to the region by the year 2025.

Tapping in the vast solar energy potential of the region, the initiative is slated to provide green electricity including in some of the world’s poorest countries.

The outline of the initiative was presented at the Paris Agreement climate change talks at COP24 in Katowice, Poland this week.

According to the estimates by the AfDB, at least 90 million people will be connected to electricity for the first time once the project is fully complete.

Sahel region, which covers Senegal, Nigeria, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Sudan, and Eritrea faces an energy shortage for around 64% of the population. This energy shortage impacts the lives of the people directly impacting development, education, healthcare, business etc,.

Magdalena J. Seol in the AfDB’s Desert to Power Initiative said, “The project will provide many benefits to local people. It will improve the affordability of electricity for low-income households and enable people to transition away from unsafe and hazardous energy sources, such as kerosene, which carries health risks.

The project is being launched by the AfDB with collaboration from the Green Climate Fund.

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