Senegal will host West Africa's largest solar power plant

Senegal will soon have the largest solar power plant in West Africa.

The country will receive a $40 million loan from French development agency PROPARCO to be repaid over 18-years for the kick-start of the project.

Close to 250,000 residents are expected to benefit from the 30-MW Senergy plant, which will be set up about 100 km northeast of Dakar, in the Thies region.

The plant is expected to start production in early 2017.

Senegal has about nine months of uninterrupted sunshine every year, a perfect environment for solar technologies. Discontent about widespread power outages caused massive protests in the country, forcing the government to reevaluate the way it brings energy to its people.

Other big boys helping to see to it that this ambitious plans come to fruition are FONSIS – the Sovereign Strategic Investment Fund of Senegal, Solairedirect, a French construction company that specialises in solar energy; and Schneider Electric, which is involved in electricity distribution and energy management.

Reuters/ Press Agencies_