The World Bank would be providing a $311 million grant to West Africa, which has one of the worst electrical networks in the world, to assist in resolving this issue.
Recently, the World Bank granted $311 million in International Development Association financing to support the expansion of grid-connected renewable energy capacity for West Africa.
Chad, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo are a few of the countries in the region that have benefited from this electrical fund.
According to the World Bank, the Regional Emergency Solar Power Intervention Project comprises a $20 million grant to support future regional power trade and improve the institutional and technical capabilities of the West Africa Power Pool to carry out its regional mandate.
The World Bank reported that the major goals of RESPITE are to improve regional integration and quickly increase grid-connected renewable energy capacity in the member nations.
The Bank continued, “It will support electricity distribution and transmission interventions across the four countries and finance the installation and operation of approximately 106 megawatts of solar photovoltaic with battery energy and storage systems, 41-megawatt expansion of hydroelectric capacity, and other related projects.”
The depressing situation of power generation in the subcontinent is taken into account by this project. Low electricity production, high electricity costs, high fuel costs, and inadequate electrical infrastructure all contribute to the electricity crisis afflicting West Africa.
The combination of all of these problems, as well as internal and external economic obstacles, makes electrification a significant challenge in the region.
The $311 million project, according to Rhonda Jordan-Antoine, the World Bank Task Team Leader for the project, will significantly resolve the region’s electrical issues. “The new project’s supported solutions are multifaceted and offer significant advantages for the countries and the area,” she said.
She continued, “It will also give countries fiscal room to address the food crisis brought on by the war in Ukraine, start developing competitively tendered grid-connected clean energy to ease the current power supply crisis, positively address climate change by assisting countries to move away from expensive and polluting fuels, and help synchronize the WAPP network to enhance regional integration in the energy sector.”
