Guinea Bissau has awarded awarded the contract for construction of Gardete solar power plant project. Chinese state-owned company Sinohydro Corporation won the contract paving way for works to commence.
The government of Guinea-Bissau in March 2019 ordered Société Africaine des Biocarburants et des Energies Renouvelables (SABER)/African Biofuel and Renewable Energy Company (ABREC), a company promoting the introduction of renewable energies and energy efficiency in Africa, to a draw up of the tender documents, oversee the launch of the tender and selection of competitors.
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Gardete solar power plant project
The solar plant will be located in Gardete, 8km from the capital Bissau and is being financed by the West African Development Bank at a tune of US $42.9m. It will also be covered by the programme for the Exploration of Renewable Energy Sources (Prover) of Guinea-Bissau.
The 20MW solar photovoltaic power produced by the plant will be injected into the national grid through a 30Kv transmission line and the Bor sub-station which will be constructed. In addition, two mini-solar power plants of 1MW each will be built in Gabu and in Canchungo.
With a population estimated at 1.86 million people, Guinea-Bissau has one of the lowest rates of electrification in all of Africa, with vast areas of its territory having no access to electricity, while biomass accounts for approximately 95% of the energy consumed in the country.
The total production of electricity in the country currently is 13 ktoe with all of it produced from fossil fuels. Only a small proportion of the population outside the capital has access to public electricity supply which they receive on part time basis. Rural areas have 21.5% access.
