Two PV plants bring clean energy to more than 500,000 in Senegal

Nearly 540,000 people in Senegal will get access to clean and affordable power following the launch of two solar photovoltaic (PV) plants, financed by IFC, the European Investment Bank, and Proparco, under the World Bank Group’s Scaling Solar program.

The two plants that launched operations last month are located in Kael and Kahone in Western Senegal and have a total capacity of 60MWac. They will provide energy at tariffs of 3.98 and 3.80 Euro cents per kilowatt-hour, respectively – one of the lowest prices for electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa – and will help avoid 89,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.

The two plants are sponsored by Engie, Meridiam, and the Senegalese Sovereign Wealth Fund for Strategic Investments (FONSIS). The competitive tendering was led by Senegal’s Energy Regulatory Commission (CRSE).

Although the proportion of Senegalese people with access to electricity has increased sharply over the past 30 years, nearly a quarter of the population still lacks access. Senegal´s power sector has been historically reliant on costly fuel imports, with about 80 percent of its energy mix being oil-based.

The financing package of the plants includes senior loans worth €38 million from IFC, the Finland-IFC Blended Finance for Climate Program, the European Investment Bank, and French development finance institution Proparco. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a member of the World Bank Group, issued €6.9 million in guarantees to support the plants, providing protection against non-commercial risks for a duration of up to 15 years.

The Kahone and Kael projects were implemented in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)‘s Power Africa, the Government of the Netherlands, The Rockefeller Foundation, and The Infrastructure Development Collaboration Partnership Fund (DevCo).

“Completion of the Kahone and Kael solar plants is a testament to the success of the Scaling Solar program,” said Sérgio Pimenta, Vice President for the Middle East and Africa at IFC. “From inception to operation, the program laid the groundwork for the government to attract world-class investors, enable competition and achieve record low prices for solar power. This project has created a market that demonstrates the possibility for growing solar investment across the region.”

Senegal is the second country to bring Scaling Solar-backed PV projects to the operational stage. In March 2019, the first solar plant financed and tendered under the Scaling Solar program was inaugurated in Zambia. The Scaling Solar program continues to grow as it supports projects in Afghanistan, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Togo, and Uzbekistan currently at various stages of development.