Senegal's new rural electrification project will include PV

Once feasibility studies are finished, Senegal's Agency of Rural Electrification (ASER) plans to start a large-scale rural electrification project in nine concession areas by the end of 2003.

While the German Development Bank (KfW) tendered a contract for a feasibility study for two concession areas in December, work on the other seven areas is already in progress.

A good number of the households within the project will be connected to the national grid, but some of the remote villages will likely use solar power. How many exactly will depend on the results of the feasibility studies, says ASER manager Ousmane Fall Sarr. According to a survey by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), around 83,000 solar home systems will be needed to satisfy national demand, he stressed.

The first phase of the project, to run through 2006, will cost an estimated €148 million ($147 million) for consultations and installations and be funded through many sources, says Sarr. These will include the World Bank, the KfW, the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and the government of Senegal. All nine of the concession areas will be open to an international tender, but it is not yet clear when that will begin

In 2001, the electrification rate in Senegal was 32 percent, decreasing to 8 percent in rural areas. The country plans to raise that level to 15 percent by 2006. A second project phase is planned from 2007 to 2015, with a goal of 30 percent rural electrification.


For more information, contact:
Aliou Niang
ASER general manager
phone +221/849/4717

Bruce Carnevale
© PHOTON International, January 2003