- The €237m venture loan would reduce CO2 emissions by 4.5 million tonnes over its 25-year lifetime and increase Côte d’Ivoire’s electricity access by 2025.
- The project supports Côte d’Ivoire’s goal to generate 45 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2030.
The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) company, has issued a €35m senior loan facility to develop a 46MW biomass power plant in Côte d’Ivoire. The new plant, the largest facility in West Africa located in Ayebo, 100km east of the capital, Abidjan, reinforces the government’s priority to expand access to electricity by 2025 – improving energy security in rural areas with an electrification rate as low as 38 per cent.
With capital injection from EAIF and commitments from lead arranger Proparco, a subsidiary of the French Development Agency, the Ivorian energy sector’s net zero pathway would improve. Biovea Energie, which will own and operate the plant when operational, was awarded a 25-year power purchase agreement to supply the Ivorian grid. This Biovea Energie project is expected to benefit 1.7 million people.
PIDG, through its Technical Assistance programme, said it would support the project’s delivery through an €8m Viability Gap Funding grant, one of the largest it has disbursed. The €237m venture is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 4.5 million tonnes over its 25-year lifetime. The project further indicates an innovative approach to achieving Côte d’Ivoire’s goal to generate 45 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2030.
According to the report, developing the plant and accompanying transmission, transport and communications infrastructure will generate 500 jobs. Once Biovea Energie commissions the project, an additional 1,000 roles will be created, benefiting the local economy. As Côte d’Ivoire gets better energy security, the country’s evolving energy market serves as an essential exporter of electricity to six of its neighbouring countries, benefitting its neighbours.
Olivia Carballo, fund manager of the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund, said, “As such a crucial energy market to one of the continent’s most important production hubs, impacts of a greener economy extend beyond the borders of Côte d’Ivoire. It is emblematic of the many resources we can leverage to accelerate growth across Africa and do so inclusively while contributing to the sustainability of thousands of livelihoods in the area.”