Page 13 - AfrElec Week 14 2021

AfrElec NEWS IN BRIEF AfrElec

The objective forms part of the Emerging In Senegal, Baobab+ has distributed (ZPC) is being done in readiness to start
Senegal Plan, a development model that is about 10,000 solar products since it started feeding the initial 25 MW into the grid, the
focused on accelerating the country’s progress operations in 2015, particularly in rural areas government-controlled Herald newspaper
toward emerging market status. where the company uses a Pay As You Go reported Monday.
Senegal boasts one of the highest access (PAYG) system. It operates in six African ZZEE is a subsidiary of the Zimbabwe
to electricity rates in West Africa, equating to countries and has equipped about 220,000 ZhongXin Coking Company (ZZCC), a joint
76% at the end of 2019. However, the rural households (1.2mn beneficiaries), giving them venture project between Qualisave Mineral
and urban population’s access rates remain access to solar power. Resources of Zimbabwe and Yuxia ZhongXin
significantly disparate, with rates currently at In Côte d’Ivoire, where it has been Coking Company of China.
94% and 53.9%, respectively. operating since 2016, over 50,000 products The company was given a license to be one
“These inequalities are likely to impact the have already been distributed to households of the many independent power producers in
efforts of the State for a balanced development and micro-entrepreneurs. 2019 and has delivered even ahead of those
of the territory and, more generally, hamper Baobab+ is not the only solar company who were issued licenses before it.
economic and social development at the expanding its services to other countries in The power generation will be done under
national level,” the Ministry of Petroleum and Africa. Earlier this year, Nigeria’s AllBase the 50 MW Phase 1 of the 320 MW project, at
Energy in said in a press release. Energy announced that it was expanding its an estimated cost of about $10mn.
In order to address these differences and solar power distribution system to Angola in “As you can see, we are working on the 13
increase access to 100%, government is re- the third quarter as part of its expansion plan. km high voltage power line linking us with
directing a focus on electrification projects. ZPC. We have done almost 80 percent of the
To fast-track this objective, the government job and we are only left with 13 intermediate
organized a two-part virtual roundtable poles,” said project public relations manager
event – held on Tuesday April 6 and again on COAL-FIRED GENERATION Bob Wang.
Thursday April 8, 2021 – that aims to mobilize “After this, we will start connecting
732bn CFA francs (equivalent to US$1.3bn) Zimbabwe set to get 50 MW wires and our target is to complete this
for the development of projects in both rural within the next month or two. We need a
and peri-urban areas. The roundtable event of electricity from Chinese- power connection from ZPC to enable us
was co-chaired by H.E. Sophie Gladima, to start trial testing of our plant. We will do
Minister of Petroleum and Energy, and H.E. Zimbabwean joint venture this testing exercise for a month to allow
Amadou Hott, Minister of Economy, Planning adjustment of our equipment and thereafter
and International Cooperation, and saw the A joint venture coal-fired power station we can start feeding power to the national
participation of public institutions, technical being built by Chinese investors and their grid. We want to start with the first 25 MW
services of the State, development partners, as Zimbabwean counterparts in Hwange will unit,” he said.
well as the private sector. see the feeding of 50 MW of power into President Emmerson Mnangagwa toured
SENEGAL MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND the national grid in the next two months, a the project in July 2020 where he expressed
ENERGY company official has said. optimism that Matabeleland North Province –
The coming on stream of the plant will where the plant is located – was poised to lead
help ease power shortages which have in the socio-economic transformation of the
SOL AR crippled the economy for many years, Xinhua country through initiatives such as electricity
reported. generation and water projects.
Baobab+ raises €4mn to Zhongxin Electrical Energy Limited (ZZEE)’s
A 13-km power line linking the Zimbabwe
finance solar home system plant and the Zimbabwe Power Company

in west Africa

Baobab+, a solar home systems distributor in
West Africa, has raised €4mn in financing for
the expansion of its activities in Côte d’Ivoire
and Senegal.
The amount was raised in two rounds of
€2mn each from Shell’s Energy Entrepreneurs
Growth Fund (EEGF), managed by Triple
Jump, the Facility for Energy Inclusion Off-
Grid Energy Access Fund (FEI-OGEF) and
LHGP Asset Management.
According to a message to TechCabal, the
raise will help Baobab+ to expand its range
with new products and promote socio-
economic development in rural areas.
Baobab+ is a social enterprise operating in
Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Madagascar and
currently being deployed in Nigeria and the
Democratic Republic of Congo.

Week 14 08•April•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P13