AMEA Power, a renewable energy company in the Middle East, has announced a planned expansion of the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed solar power plant from 50MW to 70MW. This will make it the largest solar PV plant in West Africa.

The project has a 4WMh Battery Energy Storage System and is located in the town of Blitta. It will provide electricity to more than 222,000 homes. This will increase the amount of clean energy that is accessible to the electrical network at night.

Also Read: Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed solar power plant in Blitta, Togo, commissioned

Togo solar plant project a component of the nation’s national development plan

The project is a component of Togo’s national development plan, which aims to make power accessible to everyone by 2030. The Togolese Ministry of Economy and Finance will get a loan of $25m from the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX). The latter was founded by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), to pay for the complex’s enlargement and battery storage extension.

Minister of Economy and Finance of Togo, Sani Yaya, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, and Chairman of the Exports Executive Committee of ADEX signed the agreement virtually during a ceremony.

Chairman of AMEA Power, Hussain Al Nowais, said, “The UAE is playing a crucial role in assisting emerging nations. It is helping reduce the effects of climate change and encouraging the adoption of renewable energy as the host of the upcoming Conference of Parties (COP).”

Phases 1 and 2 of the project took fewer than 18 months to complete from its beginnings. Moreover, they were fully developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The solar facility is being operated and maintained by AMEA Technical Services. Both project stages were completely operational by June 2021.

These initiatives have included the building and repair of elementary schools. In addition, they have been involved the construction of a medical clinic with maternity care services. In order to promote the economic and social growth of Togo, where half of the population lacks access to power.

For engineering students from several technical universities in Togo, AMEA Power has also designed an internship program that allows them to obtain real-world experience at the solar facility. Furthermore, a division of AMEA Power, AMEA Technical Services will carry out the project’s construction.

Dec 2019

Construction of Blitta power plant in Togo set to commence

Construction of Blitta power plant is set to kick off after the Togolese government entrusted the project to Amea Togo Solar. The subsidiary of the Emirates-based company Amea Power will implement it as part of a public-private partnership (PPP).

Two related concession agreements have recently been signed. The first was established between Dèdèriwè Ably Bidamon, the Togolese Minister of Mines and Energy, and Hussain Jasim Naser Mohamed Alnowais, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Amea Power.

Blitta power plant

Amea Togo Solar will design, finance, and build the Blitta solar power plant in two phases. The first, which will be delivered by June 2020, will allow the construction of a power plant capable of producing 30MWp. The second phase will provide a facility with a capacity of 20MWp.

A power purchase agreement was also signed between Hussain Jasim Naser Mohamed Alnowais and Mawussi Kakatsi, the General Manager of the Electric Power Company of Togo (CEET). Amea Power will invest US $33.7m in the implementation of the Blitta solar photovoltaic project.

Also Read: Zimbabwe to construct 2000MW solar power plant

National development plan

The Blitta solar project is part of Togo’s National Development Plan (NDP). On the same roadmap, the country plans to build a total of four 30MWp solar power plants. The objective is to provide access to electricity for the entire population of the West African country by 2030.

Amea Power, which is currently conquering the African solar energy market, would also be interested in the Dapaong (30 MWp) solar project in the Savannah region of northern Togo. This independent power producer (IPP) is also present in Central Africa, with a concession obtained near N’Djamena in Chad.

Jan 2020

US $15m loan approved for solar photovoltaic project in Togo

A US $15m loan has been approved by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) to fund the development of a solar project in Togo. Sani Yaya, the Togolese Minister of Economy and Finance affirmed the report and said the loan agreement was signed between the government and the Managing Director of the ADFD.

The solar project dubbed Blitta photovoltaic solar power plant will be developed under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) by the UAE-based company Amea Power. Amea Power has already signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Togo Electric Power Company.

Also Read:120MW solar pv ‘Gafsa plant’ to be constructed in Tunisia

Blitta photovoltaic solar power plant

Construction will take place in two phases. Phase one involves the construction of a solar photovoltaic power plant with a capacity of 30 MWp. It will be operational by June 2020. This will be followed by the second phase will be the construction of an additional 20MWp plant.

Upon completion, the power plant is projected to supply electricity to 600,000 homes and 700 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The solar project is also supported by the West African Development Bank (BOAD) to the tune of US $11m and will require a total investment of US $34m.

In recent years, an effort has been made for the electrification of major cities of the country, but rural electrification is still challenging. Over 90% of Togolese urban households do not have access to clean cooking. The supply of butane gas channels is not sufficiently decentralized and the gas price and the purchase cost of user equipment significantly limit the access of the majority of the population to modern cooking fuel.

Feb 2020

Construction of 50MW Blitta solar power plant in Togo begins

Construction of the Blitta solar power plant in Togo has begun. Amea Power, the project developers announced the report and said the foundation of the development was already laid by the country’s president. The Blitta solar project is part of Togo’s National Development Plan (NDP).

On the same roadmap, the country plans to build a total of four 30MWp solar power plants. The objective is to provide access to electricity for the entire population of the West African country by 2030.

Amea Togo Solar will design, and build the Blitta solar power plant in two phases. The first, which will be delivered by June 2020, will allow the construction of a power plant capable of producing 30MWp.The second phase will provide a facility with a capacity of 20MWp, bringing the capacity of the installation to 50 MWp.

Also Read: Benin to install solar systems in 5,000 homes in rural areas

Togo’s energy generation capacity

Amea Power has already signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Togo Electric Power Company. The majority of Togo’s generation capacity is thermal. Togo generates some of its own electricity but imports the majority from Nigeria and Ghana. The Government of Togo is interested in increasing private sector investment in the power sector and attracting off-grid companies to increase access to electricity in rural areas.

March 2021

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed PV plant construction complete, Blitta, Togo

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed PV plant or rather Blitta solar power plant construction is complete according to Shegun Adjadi Bakari, senior advisor to President Faure Gnassingbé of the republic of Togo, who specialized in matters concerning financing for development. 1

In a tweet dated back on Saturday the 20th of March 2021, Bakari noted that the “50MWp Solar Plant located in Blitta,” a prefecture and town in the Centrale Region of the West African country “is now ready.”

Also Read: 129 localities to benefit from phase 1 of solar mini-grid project in Togo

Start of the construction works

The construction works of the power plant which is named after the Prince and Minister of Defense of Abu Dhabi, began early last year after the Togolese President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé laid the foundation stone for the project.

Amea Togo Solar, a subsidiary of Amea Power, an independent power producer (IPP) that develops, finances, builds, owns, and operates thermal and renewable power projects in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, carried out the construction works. 1

The West African Development Bank (BOAD) and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) funded the implementation of the project.

Benefits of the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed solar power plant o Togo

The Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed solar power plant will enable the West African country to supply electricity to about 600,000 households and 700 small and medium-sized enterprises while contributing to the government’s aim to increase electricity to 100% by 2030.

In addition, it will allow the country to take a further step in its ambition to increase the share of renewables in its energy mix to 50% by the end of the next 10 years.

The entry into service of the Blitta power plant will bring the renewable capacity installed in Togo to 265 MW.

Jun 2021

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed solar power plant in Blitta, Togo, commissioned

The 50MW Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed solar power plant in Blitta, a prefecture, and town located in the Central Region of Togo has been commissioned officially in a ceremony graced by Faure Gnassingbé, the President of the West African Republic.

Delivered in record time, with just 18 months between the signing of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and commencement of commercial operations, the power plant is the country’s first utility-scale renewable energy project developed by an Independent Power Producer (IPP) i.e. AMEA Power, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate AlNowais Investments, and one of the largest solar PV IPP plants in the West African region.

Financing for the project

The Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed solar power plant project was supported with concessional loans from the West African Development Bank (BOAD) and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).

It was pre-funded on a balance sheet and then refinanced. This is a unique model for large-scale IPP projects in the African continent. It is indicative of the level of project certainty created by the NDP’s regulatory framework, which provided AMEA Power with the necessary level of assurance and comfort to embark on the project’s execution well in advance of the financing being arranged.

Also Read: Ministers pass decrees concerning Sokodé and Kara Solar Power Projects in Togo

The significance of the power plant

The Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed solar power plant will supply power to approximately 158,333 Togolese households per year, with 9% of energy generation feeding into the local Blitta distribution network. The 9% energy is reportedly enough to meet the electricity demand in the said area.

The power plant is also instrumental in supporting Togo’s US$ 8bn 2018 – 2022 National Development Plan (NDP), with which it aims to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030 and to increase the share of renewables in the energy mix to 50%.

Furthermore, the power plant will save more than 1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over the course of its life.

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed/Blitta solar power plant in Togo