Public lighting: Sunna successfully installs 30,000 solar streetlights in Togo

The implementation of public-private partnerships (PPPs) is bearing fruit in Togo’s energy sector. The French company Sunna Design has installed 30,000 solar streetlights in rural areas, mainly in the Savanes and Kara regions. The work was carried out as part of the PEP’S rural project (Solar Public Lighting Programme) implemented by the Togolese Agency for Rural Electrification and Renewable Energies (AT2ER).

According to Sunna, these new solar streetlights “play a major role in the day-to-day activities of the Togolese people, facilitating transport, work and learning at night, or simply the freedom to move around at night in safety. They also help to limit the rural exodus through the deployment of sustainable, decentralised infrastructure in areas that have been revitalised and are now more attractive”. The equipment is being installed under a PPP to be signed at the end of 2021 between Sunna and the Togolese government.

A €40 million contract

Under this €40 million partnership, Sunna manufactures its solar streetlights at its factory near the French city of Bordeaux and sends them to Togo, where they are installed by its local team with the support of several local partners, including Acermiitee, Gemas and Batir Plus. These Togolese companies will continue to provide maintenance support for the next 12 years, in accordance with the agreement signed with the Togolese authorities in 2021.

Sunna had undertaken to install 50,000 solar streetlights in 12,000 villages in 24 months. The company, headed by Ignace De Prest, is behind schedule, but promises to install the remaining 20,000 units by the end of 2024. This partnership is being implemented with the financial support of the French Treasury to benefit 1.5 million people.

The equipment is being installed at a time when the Togolese government is exploring ways of speeding up the electrification of its population, estimated at just over 8 million. The West African country has an electricity access rate of 60% (by 2021), according to the German International Development Cooperation Agency (GIZ).

Cover photo: By AFRIK21