The new Regional Electricity Access and Battery-Energy Storage Technologies (BEST) Project – approved by the World Bank Group for a total amount of $465 million – will increase grid connections in fragile areas of the Sahel, build the capacity of the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA), and strengthen the WAPP's network operation with battery energy storage technologies infrastructure.
What are West Africans doing to improve their power systems?
West Africans are now moving in many directions to enhance their power systems. This report ofers an overview of the challenges and the great profusion of activity across the region. It should inform conversation at Nigeria Energy in Lagos (19-21 September) and at the Africa Energy Expo in Rwanda next year.
What is the West Africa Energy Program?
The West Africa Energy Program run by US AID's Power Africa division includes support for five solar projects which will provide about 150MW of electricity, including the Kodeni and Nagréongo solar plants in Burkina Faso and a 250MW solar / hydropower hybrid plant in Ghana.
Where in West Africa is the biggest power generation project?
There are significant power generation projects planned or underway in most parts of West Africa, with regional economic heavyweight Nigeria the most active market and also home to the biggest scheme: the 3GW Mambilla hydroelectric plant.
Despite having one of the larger populations in the region, at more than 25 million, the country has one of the smaller electricity sectors, with a total generating capacity of just 324MW, of which more than 90% comes from fossil fuel sources.
Hydroelectric power is the dominant source of power in the region and is the focus of most of the large schemes underway, although there are also plans to develop more gas-fired plants and some initiatives to develop coal-fired capacity. West African countries have now begun to develop utility-scale solar power.
“West Africa is on the cusp of a regional power market that promises significant development benefits and potential for private sector participation,” stated Charles Cormier, Practice Manager in the Energy Global Practice at the World Bank.