| Investee Company | Kong Solaire |
| Sector | Power/Energy |
| Country | Côte d’Ivoire |
| Total Project Cost | EU 3.2m |
| PIDG Commitment |
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| Dates of PIDG involvement |
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Electrification rates in Côte d’Ivoire are among the region’s highest, at 71.1 per cent of the population. The country’s installed power generation capacity is largely derived from gas-fired thermal power plants, with the remainder dominated by hydro power. The Government of Côte d’Ivoire is committed to diversifying the country’s energy mix and increasing the role of renewables to reduce costs associated with importing natural gas, and to meet the country’s emissions targets under the Paris Agreement. With high levels of solar irradiation, particularly in the north of the country, Côte d’Ivoire has significant potential for harnessing solar power.
PIDG is working through InfraCo with Ivorian developer, Africa Via, to co-develop the 50MWp Kong Solaire Independent Power Producers (IPP) project in northern Côte d’Ivoire. The plant will be fitted with efficient bifacial panels and tracking technology to maximise generation. Power from Kong Solaire will reach grid-connected domestic and business customers in Mali, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone and Guinea, through sub-regional interconnections. Kong Solaire signed a joint 25-year Power Purchase Agreement and Concession Agreement with the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Energy, the Ministry of Finance and Budget and Côte d’Ivoire Energies to develop the plant under a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) agreement.
Kong Solaire will demonstrate the viability of solar in the country’s energy mix and will negotiate documentation that can be replicated in the future, attracting private sector finance and expertise to further expand Côte d’Ivoire’s growing solar sector.
As one of the country’s first solar IPPs, the project is part of the country’s ambitious approach to energy independence while meeting national objectives (COP26) for sustainable development, aiming to achieve 45 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
The plant will represent an investment of c. 37 billion CFA Francs (c. 56 million Euros) and will produce c. 97 GWh of clean energy in its first year of operations, thus providing electricity to over 238,000 people.
