- The African Mini Grid Programme (AMP) has been launched in Burkina Faso.
- This initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) aims to support electrification with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
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.
One approach to Burkina Faso’s problem of rural electrification is the use of solar mini-grids. Just 10% of the population in the country’s rural areas has access to electricity, out of a total population of over 22 million. The network has been expanded to reach this level. In rural locations, this is a costlier and less effective tactic.
With funds from the Burkinabe government, UNDP, and the GEF totaling 1.08 billion CFA francs (1.6 million euros), the UNDP’s proposed technical assistance program will be carried out over the course of the following 48 months. The Burkina Faso Rural Electrification Agency (ABER) will implement the African Mini-Grid Programme in the regions of Cascades, Boucle du Mouhoun, Center, Centre-North, and Centre-East with assistance from the American research institute Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI).