CHAD – The Republic of Chad has partnered with Argentina based Alcaal Group in the development of an ambitious renewable energy project which is expected to yield 200MW of solar energy if successful.
To this end, Chad’s Minister of finance and budget and the country’s Minister of Energy signed a memorandum of understanding with the Alcaal group relating to the feasibility studies the project.
The project, which will be located in the outskirts of the country’s capital, N’djmena, will feature a photovoltaic plant with a capacity of up to 200 MW and large storage capacity.
Representatives of Argentina-based Alcaal Group visited Chad at the beginning of August to discuss the prospects for investing in the country’s agribusiness and renewable energies, Idriss Déby, the Central African country’s president said.
Chad current energy production capacity stands at 125MW, a significantly lower capacity in a country with a population of 14 million.
This is despite of the country being home to vast resources including oil, wind, and solar which can be leveraged on to substantially increase the nation’s energy production capacity and enhance access to its people.
Chad had an installed solar capacity of 1 MW at the end of 2019, according to figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
At an electricity penetration of just 6.4%, Chad has one of the lowest electricity access rates in the continent and this greatly curtails any economic development and poverty reduction efforts.
In July, the United Nations Development Program launched the “Sun Health” project in the country, to boost access to reliable electricity.
Funded to the tune of more than US$3 million, the Sun Health initiative aims to install solar panels in 150 health centers in the country.
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