In Short : In Ivory Coast, PFO (Pétro Ivoire), a company traditionally associated with the petroleum industry, has entered the solar business with its inaugural 52 MW solar plant in Sokhoro. This diversification signifies a strategic move towards renewable energy, aligning with global efforts to transition to cleaner and more sustainable power sources.
In Detail : PFO Africa signs a concession agreement with the Ivorian government for the financing and construction of a 52 MW photovoltaic solar power plant in the Ferkessédougou division.
After participating in the Ivorian government’s drinking water infrastructure development program, PFO Africa is diversifying into the energy sector. The Abidjan-based company has just signed a concession agreement with the Ivorian government for the construction of a 52 MW photovoltaic solar power plant in Sokhoro, in the Ferkessédougou division.
The project thus launched “will contribute to the creation of 150 direct jobs during the construction phase, and will generate 15 permanent direct jobs during the operating phase”, assures Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly, the Ivorian Minister of Mines, Oil and Energy. According to him, work is due to start in the second quarter of 2024, and the Sokhoro solar power plant will be operational by the end of 2025.
An investment of 60 million euros
For 25 years, the electricity produced will be fed into Côte d’Ivoire’s national grid. As part of this clean energy project, PFO Africa has set up the special-purpose company Ferké Solar, which will invest 39.5 billion CFA francs, or just over 60 million euros. For Minister Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly, the project is part of the Ivorian government’s strategy to deploy 600 MW of solar capacity by 2026.
Currently, Ivory Coast has an installed capacity of 2,907 MW, of which 30% comes from renewable sources. As part of its strategy to diversify the electricity mix, the Ivorian government inaugurated its first 37.5 MWp solar power plant in Boundiali in June 2023. The park, equipped with a battery storage system, will mainly supply Boundiali.
In this town of over 40,000 inhabitants, the power plant will supply at least 30,000 households. The project required an investment of 40 million euros. The Ivorian government financed the work with a 27 million euro loan from Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the German development agency, and a 9.7 million euro grant from the European Union (EU).
