Niger commissions a new photovoltaic power plant to combat load shedding
Niger’s electricity company (NIGELEC) has commissioned a 30-megawatt photovoltaic plant to compensate for major shortages since Nigeria stopped supplying electricity to Niger in response to the coup d’état in July.
The plant, «equipped with more than 55,000 solar panels (…) is the largest solar energy infrastructure ever built in Niger».
Nigelec is already reporting an «improvement in the quality of service to its subscribers, particularly in the capital Niamey (1.5 million inhabitants), Dosso (south) and Tillabéri (west)», explained Mahaman Moustapha Barké, Niger’s Minister of Energy.
The plant was due to be operational on 25 August, but its commissioning was delayed by the departure from Niger of “most of the technical staff” expatriated after the fall of Bazoum.
The start-up of the plant was made possible thanks to «certain technicians» who remained in Niamey, he added, without providing further details.
The power station cost 20 billion CFA francs (30.4 million euros) and was financed by a loan of 15.5 billion CFA francs (23.6 million euros) from the French Development Agency (AFD) and a grant of 3.5 billion CFA francs (5.3 million euros) from the European Union (EU).
For the past four months, almost all of Niamey’s neighbourhoods have been suffering from major power cuts, after Nigeria stopped supplying Niger as part of the sanctions imposed in response to the coup d’état by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
Fayçal BADIE
