Gabon’s Minister of Energy and Water, Mr. Alain Claude Bilié By Nze, has announced that Ndjolé hybrid solar power plant, which is being constructed in the province of Moyen-Ogooué in western Gabon shall be completed and delivered before the end of July this year.
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Equipped with 1,400 panels that will be connected to three 100kW inverters installed with millimeter precision on the basis of a GPS map on galvanized steel piles, and supported by a diesel-powered generator, the power plant shall increase the West African country’s installed capacity by 400 kW once operational.
The operation and maintenance of the future Ndjolé hybrid solar power plant shall be carried out by the Société d’énergie et d’eau du Gabon (the energy and water company of Gabon-Seeg), under a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) signed with the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations du Gabon, a financial institution, created as a public industrial and commercial establishment.
A part of the Zero Diesel programme
The Ndjolé hybrid solar power plant is one of the hybrid projects launched as part of the first phase of the zero diesel program which involves the construction of 8 solar power plants with a cumulative capacity of 2.2 MW.
In addition to Ndjolé, five more plants will be installed in the province of Ogooué Ivindo, particularly in the localities of Bitam, Makokou, Ovan, Mékambo, and Booué. This will have a total of (850 kW). Two more will be built in Minvoul and Medouneu, in the province of Woleu Ntem.
This project is expected to reduce electricity production costs by 30% in the beneficiary communities and also help save approximately one million liters of fuel oil per year, avoiding the emission of 2,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) over the same period.
