Under the country’s National Renewable Energy Action Plan, Ivory Coast has set a target of increasing renewable energy in its energy mix to 42% by 2030. According to the Ivory Coast’s Minister of Mines, Power and Electricity Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly, the country is positioned to add 678 MW of solar power to its network by the end of the decade.
Ivory Coast currently has an installed power capacity of 2,907 MW, with seven operational hydroelectric dams serving as its primary energy source. The country aims to increase its energy capacity to 3,500 MW by 2025, 5,200 MW by 2030 and 8,600 MW by 2040, with the government’s ambition to establish Ivory Coast as West Africa’s energy hub on the back of its immense renewable energy potential.
Gribo-Popoli Hydroelectric Power Station
Expected to generate 554 GWh of electricity, the 112.9 MW Gribo-Popoli hydroelectric power station was commissioned in July this year and is expected to enter commercial operation by 2027. The facility is situated downstream of the Soubre power station on the Sassandra River, with engineering, procurement and construction services for the power plant conducted by hydropower engineering company Sinohydro.
Boundiali Solar Power Plant
In April this year, Ivory Coast inaugurated its first solar power plant. The 37.5 MW Boundiali solar plant supplies clean electricity to 35,000 households while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 60,000 tons of CO2 per year. The second phase of the project is expected to reach commercial operation by April 2025, with total production costs estimated at $81.5 million.
Sokhoro Solar Power Station
In January 2024, the Ivorian government signed a concession agreement with infrastructure developer PFO Africa for the financing, construction and operation of a 52 MW solar plant near the village of Sokhoro. Set to become the largest solar power plant in the country upon completion in 2025, the 52 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant will cost an estimated $65 million. The project will be entirely financed by PFO Africa subsidiary Ferké Solar.
Bondoukou Solar PV Plant
Currently in its permitting stage and planned for construction in Ivory Coast’s Zanzan District, the 50 MW Bondoukou solar PV plant is a ground-mounted solar project expected to generate approximately 85 GWh of electricity for the country. Construction of the project is expected to commence from 2024 and will enter operation by 2025. The solar plant is being developed by renewable energy company AMEA Power, with power generated from the project set to be sold to Ivory Coast’s parastatal Compagnie Ivoirienne d’Electricité under a 25-year power purchase agreement.
Boundiali Biomass Power Station
With a nameplate capacity of 12.5 MW, the Boundiali biomass power station is currently under development and due to start operation by 2025. The biomass power station is receiving support from government agency the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, which awarded the country’s government a $1 million grant last November to implement the project.
