US$11m guarantee for Maroua and Guider Solar Power Plants, Cameroon

BGFI Bank Cameroun SA recently issued two guarantees in the form of a Stand-by Letter of Credit for a total amount of more than US$ 11M for the construction of Maroua and Guider Solar Power Plants in Cameroon.

Thanks to these guarantees, Scatec, a leading renewable power producer that had required bank guarantees in order to launch the said projects shall begin working to allow electric utility ENEO to improve supply in the three northern regions of Cameroon i.e. the north, Far North, and Adamaoua, which are affected by repeated power outages.

Scatec will regularly be paid for the energy generated by the Maroua (14.52 MW) and Guider (15.78 MW) power plants and injected into the North Interconnected Network (NIN). This means that at the end of every month, BGFI will pay the Scatec bill until the amount of the guarantee runs out, after which ENEO shall refund the bank plus interests relatively lower than 3%.

Also Read: Maroua and Guider solar plants in Cameroon to benefit from tax and customs exemptions

Inclusion of 10MW of thermal energy in Maroua and Guider Solar Power Plants

Maroua and Guider Solar Power Plants in Cameroon are a part of a hybrid project retained by the Cameroonian government and ENEO. Initially, the parties involved agreed to install just about 30MW of solar energy, but they later agreed to install 10MW of thermal energy in Guider with the help of British firm Aggreko.

The electricity that the Maroua and Guider Solar Plants will generate will be marketed under a power purchase agreement (PPA) signed between Eneo and the special purpose company, Maroua Guider Solar Company.

According to the Cameroonian Ministry of Water and Energy, the two clean energy power plants will help reduce the frequency of load shedding in the northern part of the West African country by about 98% and save close to US$ 8M in fuel expenses.