Togo Gets $40m Loan For 42 MWp Solar Power Project From West African Development Bank

Togo has received a fresh loan from the West African Development Bank for the development of a 42 MWp solar power plant in Awandjelo area of Northern Togo. The bank is an international Multilateral Development Bank meant for the development of Francophone and Lusophone in West Africa.

The loan was approved by the Board of Directors gathered for the 131st ordinary meeting in Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast, which has one of the highest french speaking populations in Africa. In total, the board had approved a total of three loan proposals that would lead to the dispersal of $116.8 million. One of the loans is for the construction of the 42 MWp solar power plant at Awandjelo, Kara, Togo.

The key objective of the Togo solar power project is to diversify the energy mix of the country and reduce the electricity generation costs . The new solar power project will raise the share of renewable energy in Togo’s energy mix from the present 27 per cent to a considerable 40 per cent in 2024.

The country is also expected to increase the electrification rate from the present 59 per cent to 75 per cent in 2025.

The upcoming solar power project is also backed by the International Finance Corporation IFC as part of the Scaling Solar programme in West Africa. Reports reveal that the solar project will be constructed through a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Togo will be building one more solar project – Scaling solar programme – that will be developed at Salim. Both the IFC and Togo Government want to develop two solar power projects that will have a total capacity of 60 – 90 MWp.

Across Africa, solar is being pushed finally on the back of the need for renewable energy, as well as the fact that poor grid connectivity in the continent means the potential for off-grid as well as on grid solar is huge. Add poor energy access, and the case for solar is immense.