Djibouti announces 300MW solar project as part of 100% renewable plan

PV Magazine

The Djibouti Government has announced work is underway on a 300 MW solar PV plant. Around EUR 360 million will be invested in the project, which is being undertaken by Switzerland’s Green Enesys. The goal of the African country is to procure 100% of its energy from renewables.

Djibouti’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources has announced that initial construction work is underway on what is planned to be a 300 MW solar PV plant. If completed, it will become one the biggest of its kind in the world.

Around €360 million will be invested in the project, which is set to be executed over six 50 MW phases in the Grand Bara desert, in the south of Djibouti. Between 150 to 200 employment opportunities will be available during construction, said the ministry, while 60 full time jobs will be created when the plant is operational.

While it has been said that Green Enesys will develop the project, no timeline has been given for its completion. No details were also provided on how the generated energy will be remunerated. pv magazine has contacted the Swiss company for more details.

In October, SkyPower signed an agreement to develop 200 MW of solar PV capacity in the East African nation. The 200 MW project will be completed in four phases over four years at a cost of $440 million, of which around $11 million will be invested towards education, training and R&D, said the Canadian company at the time.

The Djibouti energy ministry has said its overall aim is to harness 100% of the country’s energy from renewables, although again no timeline was provided for achieving this goal. It did say, however, that it plans to capitalize on its 1 GW geothermal potential.

It added that 65% of the country’s current energy consumption, calculated at just 120 MW, is met by hydroelectric plants. Djibouti’s landmass is said to total just 23,200 km2, while its population is just over 810,000.

According to various sources, Djibouti has no wind potential, or natural gas or oil reserves. It does boast a solar potential of  over 70 million MWh/year, however.

Source: PV Magazine. Reproduced with permission.