Prime Minister Christophe Dabiré officially, Urbasolar Group and the citizens of Pâ, launched the Pâ photovoltaic power plant this Saturday, February 1, 2020 in the Boucle du Mouhoun region.
This emblematic project is, above all, the fruit of a successful public-private partnership between the Burkina Faso State and the Urbasolar group with its partner, PPS, a leader in Burkina Faso and in the sub-region of West Africa.
With a capacity of 30 Megawatts (MWp), this ground-mounted power plant is a first step in the installation of photovoltaic infrastructures through private investment in Burkina Faso, a country that is a motor of development for solar energy in West Africa. Indeed Burkina Faso anticipates the commissioning of more than 200 MW of solar power plants by 2021 within the framework of the energy transition plan laid out by the Government.
This program aims at increasing access to electricity in the country and at reducing dependence on fossil fuels and their impact on the environment.
Located on the Pâ site, which at the center of multiple economic and, in particular, mining activities, the photovoltaic power plant will aid in accelerating the development in the Boucle du Mouhoun region by annually producing the equivalent of the consumption of 150,000 people, giving access to electricity to the local populations of Burkina Faso while ensuring the security of green energy supply to the region’s industries.
This investment project of an overall cost of around 21.5 billion CFA Francs will allow energy to be sold to the Société Nationale d’Electricité du Burkina Faso (SONABEL) at a cost of 48 CFA Francs per kilowatt hour (KWh) versus 130 CFA Francs the kilowatt hour (KWh) for thermal production.
The project will be accompanied by numerous social and environmental measures, in particular the technical training in photovoltaics of 200 young people of the Boucle de Mouhoun region, study scholarships, a micro-financing program for local women, support for the sanitary system, and environmental and employment aid measures for the local youth.
The Urbasolar group is also fully invested in working alongside Burkinese institutions to reach the goal set by the Government.
With its experience in the Burkinese region from the solar electrification of rural areas with the Agence Burkinabè d’Electrification Rurale (Burkinese rural electricity agency, ABER), formerly FDE, and the Office Nationale de l’Eau et de l’Assainissement (national water and sanitation office, ONEA) with more than 3 Megawatts (MWp) installed for the production of drinking water, the Urbasolar group is clear in its role in the development of photovoltaic energy in West Africa, including other projects in development and construction in Senegal, Togo, Benin, and Guinea.
© Urbasolar