Benin, West Africa, aims to increase electricity coverage with increased self-sufficiency and less dependence on electricity imports from neighboring countries. The country is mainly dependent on thermal power generation facilities.
To overcome these challenges, Benin has created a national plan to develop renewable energy, especially solar photovoltaic energy. It aims to install 150 MW of solar power generation facilities by 2026.
Toyota Tsusho has signed an agreement with the Beninese Electricity Production Company under the Ministry of Energy and Water to construct a 25 MW solar power plant in the Pobè region of the Republic of Benin.
After preparing a favorable proposal based on local electricity conditions, the Benin government approved the project.
The 25 MW solar power plant is one of the largest in Benin, and it will be constructed in the Pobé region in collaboration with RMT, a German Engineering Procurement and Construction company, a subsidiary of the EIFFAGE Group.
According to Toyota Tsusho, this is the first large-scale renewable energy project implemented by a Japanese company in West Africa. The plant is being developed as a public-private partnership (PPP), making it a Japanese company’s first large-scale renewable energy project in West Africa.
Toyota Tsusho has been involved in expanding renewable energy generation in Africa, including the completion of a geothermal power plant that is the largest power provider in Kenya with a total capacity of 280 MW in 2015 and the start of commercial operation of a wind power project in Egypt with a full capacity of 262 MW in 2019.
Toyota Tsusho will contribute to realizing a decarbonized society and green economic growth in Africa by creating and utilizing new renewable energy sources to convey a better global environment to the children of the future.
Benin’s one of the largest 25 MW solar power plant’s construction will be completed in 2024.
