- TH EIB will fund a solar power expansion project in the West African nation.
- The project is expected to cost about €70million with the EIB contributing just over half of this sum.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced that it will fund the expansion of a grid-tied solar power plant in Burkina Faso. The EIB plans to provide financing to the tune of €38.5 million in a long long-term loan. This financing represents over 50 per cent of the cost of the project ( €70.5 million ). This project aims to increase the generation capacity of the country’s first installed solar plant from the current 37MW to 50 MW. The solar farm was built by Société Nationale d’électricité du Burkina Faso (Sonabel).
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According to the World Bank, Burkina Faso currently has an installed generation capacity of below 400MW and an electricity access rate of 14 per cent. The country is heavily dependent on electricity imports from Cote d’ Ivoire.