Chad: Djermaya Solar
Lighting the way for renewables in Chad
“Energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, increased social equity, and an environment that allows the world to thrive.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Sustainable Energy For All
Access to reliable, affordable energy has been highlighted by the UN as crucial to achieving the social and economic development of the world’s poorest countries. In Chad, the country’s 150MW installed power generation capacity is poorly maintained and entirely reliant upon Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) and diesel. On an energy equivalent basis, HFO is expensive so the generation cost of medium and low voltage power in Chad is high (approx. 30USc/KWh) and the government spends over US$200 million a year subsidising electricity. In spite of subsidies, regular supply failures and logistical challenges have meant that Chad’s available capacity is insufficient to meet demand and just 6.4% of Chad’s population is connected to the national grid. Those businesses and households with access, experience an average of 19.6 power outages a month which is more than twice the sub-Saharan African average of 7.8.
To address these challenges the Government of Chad (GoC) has taken decisive action. Recognising that reliable, affordable power underpins social and economic development, the GoC has made expansion of renewable energy central to its 2013-2015 National Development Plan. It has also established a new institution, the Agence des Energies Renouvelables au Tchad (ADER – Tchad) and tasked it with mobilising investment for renewables. Chad experiences exceptional levels of solar irradiation (up to 2800kWh/m2 in some areas) so by leveraging the stability of HFO baseload and flexibility of diesel, solar PV power can be integrated into Chad’s existing grid network. This freely available, sustainable resource therefore has the potential to transform Chad’s energy sector: reducing generation costs and so reducing subsidies while also enabling the GoC to connect more people to power
This project will construct a 60MW solar PV plant in Djermaya, 30km north of Chad’s capital, N’Djamena. Development of Djermaya Solar will be phased to gradually integrate renewable power into Chad’s national grid. The first 30MW phase is intended to be fully financed in 2019 and operational in 2020. This will be followed by a second 30MW phase.
This pioneering project will play a leading role in delivering on the GoC’s National Development goals: to liberalise the energy sector, mobilise private investment and promote the development of renewable energy in Chad. As a consequence, a cross-sector Task Force has been established with representatives from the Ministries of Energy, Infrastructure and Finance, SNE (Chad’s utility), ADER – Tchad and the Djermaya project. Collectively this task force has the expertise to build awareness of the project, negotiate the necessary legal and regulatory frameworks and make it a success.
Being jointly developed by Aldwych Africa Developments Ltd (on behalf of InfraCo Africa) and Smart Energies.