The Togolese authorities have constructed a 30 MW solar power plant in Blitta in the centre of the country that is expected to reduce the country’s dependence on electricity exports.
The Blitta solar plant is one of four similar power plants of 30 MV each to be built in other regions of the small West African.
The objective is to provide access to electricity for the entire population of the West African country by 2030. This strategy is supported by the World Bank, which has launched the “Scaling Solar” programme.
The idea, according to Afrik21, aFrancais online, is to encourage private companies to invest in solar energy, in order to supply energy to the national electricity grid of the country concerned, and to ensure the rapid execution (maximum two years) of electricity projects, in particular through public-private partnerships (PPP).
The provision of the power plant is led by the International Finance Corporation [IFC], the World Bank’s corporate finance subsidiary. The “Scaling solar” programme will provide 90 MW to Togo’s national electricity grid.
The recently constructed solar photovoltaic power plant will be installed in Blitta, a locality located at least 260 km from Lomé, the country’s capital. According to the report, the project has long been well developed, having already undergone an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA).
“The implementation of this project will affect the landholdings of the populations living in the direct project area (…) Given the importance of this project for the country and the need to carry out the expropriation procedure in order to ensure fair and prior compensation of the affected persons, it is essential to declare the project to be in the public interest”, says the ESIA report.
The Blitta solar power plant will be added to a similarly large facility to be built in Dapaong, in the Savannah region of northern Togo. This other project is already on track since the Togolese State already has two financial partners. These are the Abu Dhabi Development Fund (ADFD) and Amea Power, a company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The latter is also said to be building a 120 MW solar power plant near N’Djamena, the Chadian capital. The Togolese government reports that the Blitta solar project is part of the National Development Plan (NDP).
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