- Mauritania signed a $300 million agreement with Iwa Green Energy to build a 60MW hybrid solar-wind plant, scheduled to start operations in September 2026.
- The fully private-financed project will expand Mauritania’s generation capacity, support universal electricity access, and advance the country’s 70% renewable power goal by 2030.
Mauritania signed its first independent power producer (IPP) contract with Iwa Green Energy, securing $300 million in financing to deliver a 60-megawatt hybrid solar-wind power plant.
The facility, which will begin operations in September 2026, will increase Mauritania’s current installed capacity of about 450 megawatts. The government highlighted the project as a milestone in its strategy to expand electricity generation through private financing while accelerating its renewable energy transition.
Meanwhile, at the signing ceremony in Nouakchott, Economy and Finance Minister Sid’Ahmed Ould Bouh said the deal reflects investor confidence in Mauritania’s commitment to diversifying its energy mix and providing sustainable power for economic growth.
Despite vast renewable potential, fewer than 10 per cent of Mauritania’s rural households have electricity access, and the country relies heavily on imported fuels. Under President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani’s energy transition plan, the government aims to achieve universal electricity access and generate 70 per cent of its power from renewables by 2030.
Furthermore, the project ranks among the first developed under the Desert to Power initiative’s Independent Power Producer Joint Protocol, a framework supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to attract private capital through standardised terms across 11 Sahel countries.
Energy Minister Mohamed Ould Khaled emphasised that the fully private financing model will expand generation capacity without increasing public debt. AfDB’s Director of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, Daniel Schroth, praised Mauritania for applying the Joint Protocol and said the project supports the Desert to Power Initiative and Mauritania’s Mission 300 Energy Compact.
The project forms part of a broader continental shift in which African governments increasingly partner with independent power producers to scale renewable projects, mobilise investment, and reduce pressure on public budgets.