Côte d’Ivoire wants to extend access to electricity in its rural areas and increase the share of renewable energy in its energy mix. To encourage this approach, AFD is supporting the National Rural Electrification Program by contributing to the construction of a floating solar power station and the installation of smart power grid management infrastructure.
Context
The power sector, a major driver for the development of Côte d’Ivoire, faces several challenges. Almost 40% of the population currently has effective access to electricity. Only 30% of the country’s electricity is generated using renewable energy sources, mainly dams, whereas the objective for 2030 set by the 2015 Paris Agreement is 42%.
These challenges will be addressed by building new renewable power plants and extending and reinforcing the power grid. To achieve these objectives, Côte d’Ivoire has considerable solar potential, in particular through a new innovation: floating solar power stations.
Description
The Promotion of Access, Smart Grids and Solar Energy (PARIS) program focuses on the construction of a 20 MW pilot floating solar power station, the first in West Africa, on the reservoir of the Kossou Dam. This facility limits greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector and strengthens Côte d’Ivoire’s contribution to the Paris Climate Agreement.
The PARIS project will also improve the effective access rate to electricity by electrifying rural areas and increasing the number of social connections. The installation of a new smart grid center in Abidjan and three distribution grid control centers are also part of the project. These facilities will improve the performance of the power grid.
Impacts
This project supports Côte d’Ivoire’s low-carbon trajectory by deploying renewable energies. It will electrify 185 rural areas and prefinance social connections for 92,000 households, i.e. some 460,000 people.
The smart grid infrastructure improves grid performance by reducing losses and the length of power cuts. The solar power station will reduce annual emissions by 16,000 tons CO2 eq. and will be a reference for floating solar technology.
This project is carried out with the support of the European Union
01/09/2019
Project start date
20 years
Sectors
Côte d'Ivoire
Ongoing
Republic of Côte d’Ivoire
European Union
Co-financiers
The content of this project information sheet falls under the sole responsibility of the AFD and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the European Union.
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