Zagtouli Solar Power Station is an operational solar power plant in

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

. At the time of its commissioning, in November 2017, it was one of the largest grid-connected solar power stations in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

Location

The development sits on of real estate, in Zagtouli, a northwestern suburb of

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...

, the capital city of Burkina Faso.

Overview

The power station was developed, and is operated by

Cegelec Cegelec is a French engineering company specialized in electrical infrastructure, HVAC, information technology, nuclear energy development, transport infrastructure, robotics and offering both public and private services. Cegelec was officially ...

, an electricity engineering firm headquartered in Paris, France. Zagtouli Solar Power Station comprises 129,600 solar panels, each rated at 260 watts. The plant is capable of generating 56 gigawatts-hours of electric energy annually. The power generated at this plant is sold to SONABEL, the national electricity company of Burkina Faso, for integration in the national power grid. The energy produced here costs 45 CFA francs (€0.07) per kilowatt-hour.

Ownership

Zagtouli Solar Power Station is owned and operated by Cegelec, based in France, with major activity in France, Brazil, Indonesia, the Middle East and Africa.

Funding

The cost of construction is reported to be €47.5million (US$56.7 million), through a grant and a loan. The table below illustrates the funding sources for Zagtouli Solar Power Station.

Other considerations

Burkina Faso is only able to produce 60 percent of the electricity it consumes. The remaining 40 percent in imported from neighboring

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

and

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. The output of this power plant is intended to reduce that energy deficit. In November 2017, there were plans to enlarge the power plant by another 17 megawatts to a total of 50 megawatts.

References

External links

Burkina Faso launches Sahel region's largest solar power plant
As of November 2017.
Africa: Solar photovoltaic could reach 30 GW in 2030
As of 22 May 2019. {{Authority control Solar power stations in Burkina Faso 2017 establishments in Burkina Faso Energy infrastructure in Africa Energy infrastructure completed in 2017