The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) has just approved a USD 780,000 preparation grant for the development of a first phase 40 MW of Starsol* Solar PV Plant near N'Djamena in Chad as the first Independent Power Producer (IPP) scheme to be connected to the national grid. Specifically, the SEFA grant will finance the costs related to technical assistance for the completion of the plant design and grid study, as well as advisors for legal and financial structuring of a bankable IPP.
The success of this project will have significant demonstration effects in the country's power sector and provide reliable power to address power shortages hampering economic growth. Implementation of this project first phase will help to increase the installed capacity by 45%, generate around 64 GWh of electricity per year and provide electricity to the equivalent of 16,871 households in the area of N'Djamena as well as to the corporate and public sectors. It will also contribute to diversifying the country's energy mix with a clean energy source and to promoting technology transfer, thus stimulating the creation of skilled and semi-skilled jobs. Finally, the project will help Chad meet its growing electricity demand with an endogenous, abundant and carbon-free source
The project aligns with the Chad Government's focus on the development of renewable energies as a national energy policy priority , in a country with less than 2% of the population has access to electricity and the electricity generation costs are high (FCFA 345/KWh, USD 0.65/KWh) as most of it is provided by private diesel generators. The project is also aligned with the African Development Bank Climate Change Action Plan 2011-2015 and Energy Policy, as well as the Bank's Strategy 2013-2022 which focuses on the twin objectives of inclusive and green growth in the continent.
* Starsol Chad project is promoted by a consortium including NewSolar Invest, a solar energy project developer, CIEC Monaco, an engineering company, and Arborescence Capital, an infrastructure and renewable energy project financing arranger.
About the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA): SEFA is a multi-donor trust facility established to support private sector investments in small to medium sized clean energy projects in Africa, operating through three components: (i) grants to facilitate the preparation of renewable energy generation and energy efficiency projects towards bankability (ii) equity investments to bridge the financing gap for renewable energy generation projects and; (iii) support to public sector in improving the enabling environment for private investments in sustainable energy. SEFA is endowed with contributions from the Governments of Denmark, United States and the United Kingdom, and is hosted and managed by the Energy, Environment and Climate Change Department of the AfDB.
