The tender for a floating solar array in Ivory Coast was launched by Cote d’Ivoire Energies (Cl-Energies), a local utility. The 20 megawatts floating solar array will be located on a water reservoir in the center of the Ivory Coast; the Kossou dam. The Kossou lake is the country’s largest lake laying on the Bandama River. It is an artificial lake that was created in 1973 via damming the Bandama River at Kossou.
The state’s very own energy company, Cl Energies, launched the tender publication on the 9th of February 2022, with March 29th being the submission deadline. The company is located in Abidjan and is a part of the Electric Power Transmission, Generation, and Distribution Industry. The floating solar array in the Ivory Coast project is being funded by the French Development Funding agency. The loan is for a total sum amount of €80 million. The first 42 months of the project are set for 18 months of study and construction. The remaining 24 months are set for assistance with the operation.
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Future Plans
Ivory Coast has set goals to double its capacity of power generation between the years 2025 and 2030. This would serve as an increase from 2,229 to 4,663 Megawatts in 2030, which also would include 42% renewable energy. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) stated that the Ivorian government has set out to meet increasing energy demand by adding about 150 megawatts every year through IPPs.
This floating solar array in Ivory Coast is a project that will go down in history as a legendary event, especially when it comes to the renewable energy sector in Afrika. The International Renewable Energy Agency expressed that by the end of 2020, the sub-Saharan country only had 13 megawatts of installed solar power. The Government of Ivory Coast has confidently expressed that they are working towards making the nation a West Afrikan electricity hub.
