Savannah Energy Niger Solar Ltd., the wholly-owned subsidiary of British independent power company Savannah Energy Plc, has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the Niger government for the development of two solar photovoltaic power plants. The power facilities will have a combined installed power capacity of up to 200 MW.
The agreement signing ceremony was attended by Ibrahim Yacoubou, Minister of State for Energy and Renewable Energies, Catherine Inglehearn, British Ambassador to Niger, and Yacine Wafy, Vice President, West Africa Savannah Energy. The solar power will be built near the cities of Marandi and Zinder, in southern Niger.
The proposed solar plants will be connected to the South-Central section of Niger’s electricity grid. Savannah plans to complete the feasibility studies of the project within the next 12 months. The projects are likely to receive sanctions in 2024 and achieve initial operational status by 2025 to 2026. The project development costs will be funded through an integration of Savannah’s internally produced cash flows and project-specific debt.
Both solar plants will have a combined potential of 200 MW installed capacity, with each having 50 MW and 100 MW capacity. The future projects have the potential to increase the on-grid electricity supply in the country by nearly 20% and are expected to reduce around 260,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
According to Minister Yacoubou, the upcoming solar projects are one of the strategies of the government to increase access to electricity for the people. These projects come in addition to the signing of a 250 MW wind farm project with Savannah Energy last year which will be developed in the community of Tarka in the Tahoua region.
Ambassador Inglehearn said that foreign investments in energy projects are crucial for Niger’s social and economic development, and British companies such as Savannah Energy continues to make significant development in the country’s energy sector. The signing of the Niger solar projects follows the meeting of investor and Niger’s President Mohammad Bazoum in London earlier this month.
According to the CEO of Savannah Energy, Andrew Knott, the upcoming solar plants are part of high impacts projects of the power company’s energy division. Savannah will continue to work with the Niger government and financial partners as they move the projects through developmental phases toward the planned dates of their installations.
