The government of Burkina Faso is stepping up initiatives to increase the country’s electricity production. At the beginning of September 2020, the National Electricity Company of Burkina Faso (Sonabel) launched a call for tenders for the construction of four 9 MWp photovoltaic solar power plants. This time, the government of this West African country plans to equip the towns of Koudougou and Kaya with two 30 MWp solar photovoltaic power plants. The works were launched on September 10th, 2020 by the Burkinabe Minister of Energy, Bachir Ismaël Ouédraogo.
The cities of Koudougou, in the province of Boulkiemdé and Kaya, in the province of Sanmatenga will have solar power stations of 20 MWp and 10 MWp respectively. The Burkinabe Ministry of Energy indicates that the construction of these installations will cost 41 billion CFA francs (more than 62.5 million euros). According to the same source, the work in progress is part of the Electricity Sector Support Project (Pasel), financed by the Burkinabe government with a World Bank loan.
In addition to the construction of the solar power plants, the Burkinabe government plans to strengthen three inter-urban links through electricity distribution stations. According to Sonabel, a 225 kV transmission line will be built between the city of Pâ and the city of Diébougou, over a distance of about 83 km. A second 225 kV transmission line will be built to link the town of Ziniaré and Kaya, over a distance of 60 km. The final 90 kV transmission line will link Wona and Dédougou, over a distance of 60 km. The total length of the transmission lines to be built is approximately 203 km. Sonabel explains that, once the work is completed, the various facilities will make it possible to inject 48.86 GWh into its electricity network, thereby reducing the electricity needs of Burkinabe citizens by 2.5%.
The construction contract for the photovoltaic solar power plants was won by Engie. The transmission lines and associated substations will be built by Engie’s subsidiary Ineo Energy & Systems and five other companies, including Mohan Energy Corporation Pvt. and Unitech Power Transmission. Ltd, Tebian Electric Apparatus (TBEA) CO., Shandong Taikai Power Engineering CO. and the consortium IMPSDI (Inner Mongolia Electric Power Survey & Design Institute Co.) – Kesec, the Engineering Society of Kenya. “The latter have between 12 and 14 months to complete the work,” says Bachir Ismaël Ouédraogo, the Burkinabe Minister of Energy.
Inès Magoum