The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) is participating in constructing four solar power plants with loans of €90 million. The plants will inject 110 MWp of clean energy into Burkina Faso’s national power grid.
This is a record amount of funding for renewable energy financing in Burkina Faso. In addition, the developer announces the funding and contract for the construction and operation of four solar power plants in the West African country. FMO is the lead financier of these clean energy projects.
These solar projects are being developed by Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to increase the country’s installed capacity. Burkina Faso has an installed capacity of 344 MW, one of the least endowed countries on the African continent. Much of this electricity is produced by diesel generators, which increases the cost of electricity for the end consumer. To meet the demand of its estimated 21 million inhabitants, Burkina Faso is forced to import some of its electricity from neighbouring countries, notably Ghana and Ivory Coast. But the government of this West African country is now banking on solar power to turn the tide.