Toyota Tsusho Corporation has been awarded a contract by the Beninese Electricity Production Company, under the Ministry of Energy and Water, for the construction of a 25-MW solar power plant in Benin.
This Project is the first large-scale renewable energy power plant construction project in West Africa by a Japanese company. The construction of this large-scale solar power plant will be promoted as a Japanese public-private partnership project that is a stable source of electricity at a lower cost.
Toyota Tsusho has been involved in expanding renewable energy generation in Africa, including the completion of a geothermal power plant that is the largest power provider in Kenya (total of 280 MW) in 2015 and the start of commercial operation of a wind power project in Egypt (total of 262 MW) in 2019.
Benin intends to increase and improve its electricity coverage with more self-sufficiency and less electricity imports from neighboring countries. In addition, the majority of power generation facilities in the country are thermal power plants. Benin established a national plan to develop renewable energy power, mainly solar photovoltaic power, in order to overcome these challenges. It is aiming to install a total of 150 MW of solar power generation facilities by 2026.
Toyota Tsusho conducted a project development study with support by the Benin government such as the Beninese Electricity Production Company, under the program of the “Feasibility Study Project of Overseas Development for High-Quality Energy Infrastructure” by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in FY2021. After making optimized proposals based on local electricity conditions, the project was approved by the government of Benin. The 25 MW solar power plant, one of the largest in Benin, will be constructed in the Pobé region together with RMT, a German EPC (Engineering Procurement and Construction) company; a subsidiary of the EIFFAGE Group. Construction work is scheduled to be completed in 2024.