NIGER: 4 months after the coup, the Gourou Banda solar park comes into service
Mahaman Moustapha Barké, the Nigerien Minister of Energy, announces the commissioning of a 30 MW photovoltaic solar power plant. The infrastructure located around ten kilometers from the capital Niamey was built with the aim of improving the city's electricity supply under the aegis of the Niger Electricity Company (Nigelec).
Niamey, the capital of Niger (1.5 million inhabitants), has just recorded an improvement in the electricity supply. According to the Nigerien electricity company (Nigelec), this improvement particularly concerns the regions of Dosso (to the south) and Tillabéri (to the west). This was made possible thanks to the commissioning of the Gourou Banda solar power plant, with a capacity of 30 MWp.
Equipped with 55,608 solar panels, each with a power of 540 W, it is the largest solar park ever built in Niger. The construction, installation, operation and maintenance (for two years) of this plant requires the mobilization of 30 million euros (20 billion CFA francs), contributed to the tune of 23.5 million euros. by the French Development Agency (AFD) in the form of a loan, 5 million euros by the European Union (EU) and the remaining 1.5 million for the State of Niger.
Commissioning delayed by the coup
In an announcement made on national television on Sunday, November 26, 2023, the Nigerien Minister of Energy, Mahaman Moustapha Barké indicates that the commissioning of the Gourou Banda solar power plant makes it possible to reduce the load shedding that the country has been facing for over of three months. Neighboring Nigeria, which supplied 70% of electricity distributed by Nigelec, stopped supplying Niger. The West African country has been under sanctions from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), since the military coup of July 26, 2023, which overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum.
This coup at the head of the country also delayed the commissioning of the plant, which was to have been operational since August 25, 2023, a month after its inauguration by the deposed president. “ Most of the technical staff left after the coup. The start-up of the plant was made possible thanks to certain technicians, who remained in Niamey ,” explains Minister Mahaman Moustapha Barké.
Niger's electricity coverage was already not satisfactory before the coup d'état of July 26, 2023. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INS) of Niger, the city of Niamey suffers from numerous power cuts, despite the extension thermal production capacities in 2017. At the national level, electrification stood at 15.72% in 2020, with a large disparity between rural areas and cities.
