Niger, under sanctions, commissions a new photovoltaic power plant

I recently learned that Niger’s electricity company, Nigelec, has commissioned a 30-megawatt photovoltaic plant to address significant power shortages caused by Nigeria’s halt in electricity supplies to Niger following the July coup. The country’s energy minister made this announcement on Sunday.

This new power station, equipped with over 55,000 solar panels, marks the largest solar energy infrastructure ever constructed in Niger. According to Mahaman Moustapha Barké, Niger’s energy minister, Nigelec is already witnessing an “improvement in the quality of service” for its subscribers, particularly in Niamey (the capital, with a population of 1.5 million), Dosso in the south, and Tillabéri in the west.

The plant was initially scheduled to become operational on August 25, but its commissioning faced delays due to the departure of most expatriate technical staff after the military coup on July 26. However, the start-up was made possible by “certain technicians” who remained in Niamey, although Barké did not provide further details.

The French embassy in Niger issued a warning on Sunday, stating that “as the power station could not be completed under the originally planned conditions, there are nevertheless operational risks.” The plant was inaugurated on July 5 by the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, and Josep Borrell, the head of EU diplomacy.

The total cost of the power station is 20 billion CFA francs (approximately 30.4 million euros), funded by a loan of 15.5 billion CFA francs (around 23.6 million euros) from the French Development Agency (AFD) and a grant of 3.5 billion CFA francs (about 5.3 million euros) from the European Union (EU).

For the last four months, nearly all districts in Niamey have been experiencing severe power cuts, as Nigeria ceased its electricity supply to Niger as part of the sanctions imposed in response to the coup d’état led by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), under the leadership of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu. Before the coup, Nigeria provided 70% of the electricity purchased by Nigelec, the country’s sole supplier, according to a 2022 report by the company.