Dubai-based Amea Power has announced the commissioning of the Zina solar power plant in Mouhoun Province, Burkina Faso.
The 26.6 MW facility will be operated under a 25-year electricity purchase contract with the country’s national electricity company, Sonabel.
The project was started in 2009 as part of a public-private partnership between the government of Burkina Faso and the Canadian mining company Semafo, with the aim of supplying electricity to the Mana gold mine. In 2013, the project company separated from Semafo to become Windiga Énergie Burkina – it still owns 5% of the assets today.
The construction contract was originally entrusted to the French developer Bouygues Energies & Services, which was also responsible for the operation and maintenance of the plant. However, at a later stage, Amea Power acquired 90% of the project capital from Windiga and hired a new engineering, procurement and construction contractor, China-based Sinohydro. The project also included the construction of a 90 kV transmission line between the towns of Pâ and Mana.
The construction of the factory was financed by International Finance Corp. (IFC), the IFC-Canada Climate Change Program and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund.
Burkina Faso plans to add approximately 500 MW of renewable capacity by 2025. In December 2023, the government inaugurated two solar power plants in Kôdéni and Pâ with a combined capacity of 68 MW.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the country had an installed PV capacity of 177 MW.
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