- Togo has released a list of the first localities to benefit from the rural solar electrification project,
- This project aims to provide 11MW of electricity in total mini-grid capacity to 317 rural locations across the country.
- These mini-grids will be constructed under PPPs with developers expected to provide up to 30% of the financing.
The Togolese Agency for Electrification and Renewable Energies (AT2ER) has released a list of 129 rural locations set to receive solar mini-grid deployments. This is part of the first phase of a project that aims to electrify 317 communities Togo with solar mini-grids. The 129 communities are distributed across the country’s 5 regions Maritime region, Kara, the Savanes, the Central region, and the Plateaux region.
The solar mini-grids’ total capacity will be 11MW; the project will also see the installation of about 450km of distribution network. Over 45,000 people are expected to benefit from the project.
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The project will be developed as a public-private partnership (PPP). AT2ER last year launched a pre-qualification notice for the development, co-financing, construction, operation and maintenance of mini-solar grids, distribution networks, the distribution and marketing of electricity to customers, and the transfer at the end of the licence. In the notice, bidders were informed of the expectation of up to 30 per cent of the financing. The West African Development Bank (BOAD) will also be supporting the project.
Rural access to electricity is currently 8 per cent in Togo. The government aims to increase this figure to 50 per cent by 2030. This Solar project is seen as a big step towards achieving that target.