- The Togolese government and the World Bank have just signed a $64.2 million financing agreement.
- The funding is intended for the electrification at least 60 localities as part of a regional project initiated by the World Bank.
Sani Yaya, Togo’s Minister of Economics and Finance, and Coralie Gevers, the World Bank’s Head of Operations for Togo, signed the $64 million funding agreement. The money comes from a $311 million World Bank commitment for the Regional Solar Emergency Response Project (RESPIT).
In Togo, Chad, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, the effort intends to “rapidly” develop grid-connected renewable energy capacity and promote regional connectivity. Respit will construct a 25 MWp solar photovoltaic power plant in Dalwak, Togo, close to the town of Dapaong in the country’s north, which shares a border with Burkina Faso.
A 40 MWh battery storage system will be installed at the plant, enabling the electrification of 60 communities in northern Togo. The World Bank’s funding will enable the installation of 1,858 street lamps for public lighting and the electricity of 12,100 homes in rural areas.
Respit will “accelerate the attainment of the electrification plan objectives set forth in the roadmap 2025, particularly universal access to energy by 2030,” according to the Togolese government. By 2025, Lomé wants to electrify 75% of its population. In Montserrado County, Liberia, a 60 MWp solar photovoltaic plant will be constructed close to the Mount Coffee hydropower dam. This is where Respit, a project supported by the World Bank and recently launched, would be located.