Engie and Meridiam win two solar PV projects in Senegal

Solar park. — Solar plant developed by Germany-based Ib Vogt GmbH and a local company called Infinity Solar Systems, stands in the desert south of Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday, March 13, 2018. In this plant, we have 200,000 solar panels and 780 sun trackers that allow the panels to move toward the solar position throughout the day, Amine el-Edghiri, Ib Vogts project manager, said during a media tour of the facility 650 kilometers (400 miles) south of Cairo on the fringes of the Nubian Desert. Photographer: Salma El Wardany/Bloomberg

Engie has announced contract wins with investment partner Meridiam for two solar PV projects totaling 60megawatts.

The deal with Senegal’s Electricity Sector Regulation Commission (CRSE) is part of a growing solar initiative in the African country.

The solar farms are located in Kahone, in the Kaolack region, and in Touba-Kaël, in the Diourbel region.

Engie and Meridiam will hold a 40% shareholding in the project company while FONSIS, the Senegalese sovereign fund, will also be a shareholder with a 20% equity stake.

The construction and the operation of the solar farms will be managed and executed by Engie.

Yoven Moorooven, CEO of Engie Africa, said: “Our consortium delivered a highly competitive offer by leveraging our experience of developing and operating renewable energy projects in Africa – in particular in Senegal.

“This success demonstrates the merit of our integrated model for solar whereby ENGIE is acting as investor, operator and EPC contractor through ENGIE Solar (formerly known as Solairedirect).The CRSE and the IFC set out a clear, sound investment framework, which favored the presence of long-term investors like ENGIE.

“Our focus will now be on finalising the projects to deliver the most competitive solar photovoltaic plants, to serve the country’s ambition of developing universal electricity access in a sustainable manner. Congratulations to the teams on this achievement. “

Mathieu Peller, COO of Meridiam Africa, added: “We continue to deploy our fund in Africa, choosing projects aimed at supporting sustainable economic development. Thanks to the reduced costs of solar equipment, this particular project will have a high developmental impact by expanding Senegal’s capacity to generate clean energy at a very competitive price.

“Increasing power generation is critical for the Government’s objective to raise Senegal to the level of an emerging market by 2035. The Project aligns with the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goal Seven, which calls for increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.”