Project Summary

Project General Description

The Yeleen Solar Plants Development and National Power System Reinforcement Project is an investment operation aiming to deploy solar power plants and reinforce power grid. It is part of the “Desert to Energy” Initiative in Burkina Faso. By deploying solar plants and expanding power grids, the Yeleen Project addresses the issue of continuous availability of energy and the poor electricity access of most people in Burkina Faso, especially those residing in peri-urban and rural areas, where over 70% of the country’s total population is concentrated. It will thus make it possible to: (i) improve the availability of electrical energy in Burkina Faso households (21% of the total population) and public and private structures already connected to the power grid; and (ii) enable 30,000 new households, or about 200,000 inhabitants making up nearly 1% of the total population of the country3 to have access to electricity. By facilitating the electricity access of low-income peri-urban and rural households, the project contribute to making the country’s economic and social development more inclusive, in line with the Bank’s 2013-2022 Ten-Year Strategy, adopted in 2012, with the dual objective of inclusive growth and transition towards green growth in Regional Member Countries (RMC). The total cost is estimated at EUR 136.69 million with the Bank contributing EUR 48.82 million (36%). The project implementation is estimated to span a period of five years from 2020 to 2024.

Project Objectives

The project’s sector objective is to contribute to the increase and diversification of national energy supply within a sustainable development context and boost sustainable access to electricity to improve the living conditions of the population. Specifically, it aims to: (i) increase electrical energy supply from renewable sources by deploying additional solar capacity (photovoltaic) totalling 52 MWc, spread on four sites: North-West Ouaga (43 MW), Dori (6 MW), Diapaga (2 MWc) and Gaoua (1 MWc); and (ii) strengthen and expand electricity distribution networks and connect 30,000 new households.

Beneficiaries

The project’s main beneficiaries are the Government, SONABEL, the population and the productive sector (industries, transport, agriculture, etc.) thanks to more readily available power supply induced by the electricity generated by photovoltaic solar plants with a cumulative capacity of 52 MWc to be deployed thanks to the project’s “solar power plants” component. National and international companies will benefit from supplies contracts and construction contracts linked to works on power grids. Hundreds of direct temporary jobs will be created during the construction phase of the project. The “Distribution grids” component will enable 30,000 new households, equivalent to 200,000 people, to have access to electricity. Several dozens of schools and apprenticeship/training centres situated in the project area will be connected to the power grid and access to electrical power will improve their operation. Besides, several health (health and social empowerment centres - CSPS) and education (secondary and high schools, vocational and technical training centres, etc.) institutions will benefit from the project outputs.

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