The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), part of the AfDB, approved a preparation grant for the development of a 40-MW solar PV plant in Chad. The preparation grant is for $780,000. The Starsol Solar PV Plant will be the first independent power producer project to be connected to the national grid in Chad.
The SEFA grant will finance 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 the project.
The plant is backed by NewSolar Invest, engineering group CIEC Monaco, and infrastructure and renewable energy project financier Arborescence Capital.
The project will increase installed capacity by 45%, and generate around 64 GW hours of electricity per year. It will also contribute to diversifying the country’s energy mix and promote technology transfer, stimulating the creation of skilled and semi-skilled jobs, according to the AfDB.