Gambian President Adama Barrow recently laid the foundation stone for the commencement of a solar photovoltaic plant in the country. The 23 MW solar facility is being developed by Gambia National Water and Electric Co. (NAWEC) and includes an 8 MW battery storage system.
Located in the Jambur village, West Coast Region, the solar power plant is developed under the Gambia Electricity Restoration and Modernization Project (GERMP). The facility is co-financed by the World Bank and the European Investment Bank (EIB) for an amount of $27,800,225.
NAWEC has contracted the construction of the solar power facility to the Chinese company TBEA. The project is expected to be completed in twelve months. The future plant will provide additional reliable, affordable, and sustainable generation capacity to the Greater Banjul Area.
According to NAWEC, the solar project will improve its power generation capacity and the transmission network efficiency in order to increase access to renewable electricity for socio-economic development in the Gambia. The development of this plant is in line with national policies such as the ‘National Development Plan’ and ‘The Gambia Electricity Sector Roadmap’.
Upon completion, the solar facility will be the first large-scale ground-mounted solar plant to be operational in the Gambia. President Barrow said the solar plant will help in transforming the energy sector in the country and help in attaining universal electricity access by 2025.
The electricity network in Gambia primarily consists of mini-grids that the government plans to improve by transforming into hybrid mini-grids, integrated with renewable energy generation facilities. According to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the West African nation has just 2 MW of installed solar capacity at the end of 2021.
