The Ivory Coast plans to start building the Ferke Solar power plant in Sokoro, costing $63.5 million and boasting a 52 MW capacity. Government spokesperson Amadou Coulibaly revealed in April that construction will kick off in the second quarter of 2024, with operations targeted for the third quarter of 2025.
The project, named Ferke Solar, originates from a January 2024 agreement signed with renewable energy firm PFO Africa, backed by Germany and the European Union.
Coulibaly outlined that the initiative aligns with a broader policy aimed at integrating renewable energy into the national power sector. This endeavor seeks not only to achieve nationwide electrification, currently at 94%, but also to expedite the energy transition to meet climate goals set in 2021. These objectives entail achieving a 45% renewable energy mix and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 31.4% by 2030.
Meanwhile, the Ivory Coast inaugurated the 37.5 MW Boundiali power plant, which is the first photovoltaic solar plant in the country and the largest in West Africa.
“In five years, the share of solar energy will be 9%,” stated the Prime Minister of Ivory Coast, Robert Beugré Mambé, during the power plant inauguration on April 24. Its capacity is set to expand to 80 MW by 2025, with financing for the expansion already approved by the government.
The Ivory Coast currently has an installed power capacity of 2,907 MW, with seven operational hydroelectric dams serving as its primary renewable energy source alongside four existing gas and oil-fired thermal power plants. With no shortage of electricity, the country exports nearly 10% of its power to neighboring Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, and Mali.
The country aims to increase capacity to 3,500 MW by 2025, 5,200 MW by 2030, and 8,600 MW by 2040, with the government’s ambition to establish the country as West Africa’s energy hub, leveraging renewable energies to achieve this vision, according to Coulibaly.
With an estimated daily direct normal irradiation of 3510 Wh/m2, the Ivory Coast is attracting interest from other renewable energy developers. Prime Minister Mambé announced that contracts are currently being reviewed for the construction of additional solar power plants, totaling 600 MW in capacity, set to be commissioned in 2025 and 2026. Among them is the 50 MW solar plant developed by Emirati company Amea Power, which will invest €56 million as part of a public-private partnership. The plant will be connected to the grid of the Compagnie Ivoirienne d’Électricité, which will purchase its output for 25 years. Additionally, Emirati state-owned Masdar is also exploring the possibility of installing a 50–70 MW solar power plant.
The fourth edition of the MSGBC Oil, Gas, and Power 2024 conference and exhibition is set to take place in Dakar, Senegal, from December 3–4. Panel discussions will offer insights into the status of renewable energy across West Africa, including Ivory Coast, and highlight investment opportunities, especially in solar power.
