The government of Togo and the World Bank have just signed a $64.2 million financing agreement. The funding is intended for the electrification of at least 60 localities as part of a regional project initiated by the World Bank.
The $64 million financing agreement was signed between Sani Yaya, Togo’s Minister of Economy and Finance, and Coralie Gevers, the World Bank’s Director of Operations for Togo. The funding is part of a $311 million package committed by the World Bank under the Regional Solar Emergency Response Project (RESPIT).
The initiative aims to “rapidly” increase grid-connected renewable energy capacity and strengthen regional integration in Togo, Chad, Liberia and Sierra Leone. In Togo, Respit will build a 25 MWp solar photovoltaic power plant in Dalwak, near the northern town of Dapaong on the border with Burkina Faso.
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The plant will be equipped with a 40 MWh battery storage system, which will allow the electrification of 60 localities in northern Togo. In rural areas, the World Bank financing will allow the electrification of 12,100 households and the installation of 1,858 street lamps for public lighting.
According to the Togolese government, Respit will “accelerate the achievement of the electrification strategy objectives set out in the Roadmap 2025, notably universal access to electricity by 2030”. Lomé is aiming for a 75% electrification rate by 2025. In Liberia, where Respit was recently launched with $96 million in World Bank funding, a 60 MWp solar photovoltaic plant will be built near the Mount Coffee hydroelectric dam in Montserrado County.
Jean Marie Takouleu
