Guinea turns to solar power to reduce neighbours’ energy dependence

(Bloomberg) — Guinea plans to build the country’s first solar power plants, which would boost electricity production by 15% and reduce dependence on its West African neighbors.

Work is underway to build two 35-megawatt and one 30-megawatt power plants in the gold-rich regions of Kankan and Siguiri, the energy ministry said in a statement on Friday.

As reported, talks are still ongoing on the construction of two more 40-megawatt solar power plants.

The solar projects will add 180 megawatts of new capacity to a country with a total installed generating capacity of just 1,200 megawatts in 2022, according to BloombergNEF. Guinea imports about 130 megawatts of power from neighboring Senegal and Ivory Coast, but that is not enough to meet demand.

“The solar power plants will support sustainable development and strengthen our energy independence,” the ministry said, without disclosing the project’s cost or financing source.

Guinea rivals Australia as China’s largest supplier of bauxite, a red ore used to make aluminum. It also has the world’s largest untapped iron ore reserves. Yet most of the nation lives in poverty, lacking electricity and other basic services.

Miners Rio Tinto Plc and Aluminum Corp of China Ltd operate using their own power sources.

Friday’s announcement comes as China ramps up its renewable energy investments in Africa, pledging more than $1 billion for wind and solar projects between 2015 and 2018 alone, according to a database by Boston University’s Center for Global Development Policy.

Listen to Zero: How to Make Renewable Energy Profitable Everywhere

For more stories like this, visit bloomberg.com