| Project Detail |
The Desert To Power Regional Technical Assistance Project for the Sahel is to create an enabling environment for solar electricity projects in the Sahel, while unlocking private sector investments in both the on-grid and mini-grid space. The proposed operation builds upon the validated national Desert to Power Roadmaps and ongoing interactions with national governments, regional institutions and development partners. Overall, this regional technical assistance project covering 10 countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal) is a core component of the Bank’s Desert to Power (DtP) Initiative. Overall, the proposed operation consists of five components. The first component will provide support for the preparation of studies and provision of technical assistance for on-grid and decentralized solar projects. The second component will focus on implementing actions for catalyzing private sector investments in the region. The third component will cover the development of a comprehensive capacity-building program and its implementation in collaboration with other partners. The fourth component will aim to support the development and implementation of the mini-grid strategy across all coverage countries. The fifth component covers the project management aspects.
Project Objectives
The projects development objective is to provide technical assistance to create an enabling environment for solar power projects in the Sahel, while unlocking private sector investments in both the on-grid and mini-grid space. Its specific goals are to: (i) strengthen the regional environment for regulating and operating regional renewable energy projects, (ii) provide advisory services to assist the Sahel regional countries in preparation, negotiations construction and supervision of projects and (iii) Incentivize private sector investment in solar projects across the region.
Beneficiaries
The project’s direct beneficiaries are Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, which together have a total population of slightly more than 239 million people and the project area stretches over 6.5m km2. The indirect beneficiaries of the project will be the more than 120 million people among them who do not have access to electricity and for whom green mini-grids have been identified as the least-cost electricity access option. |
