The 30-megawatt (MW) solar plant project will be built at Zagtouli, on the outskirts of Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou, at a total cost of €70.5m. The plant will be operated by national electricity utility Sonabel.

Plans for the plant come just three months after Canadian-based Windiga Energy signed an investment agreement for a separate 20 MW solar plant to be built in Zina, 200 kilometres west of Ouagadougou.

The EIB said the Zagtouli plant “is expected to act as a reference for future solar investment across the continent”. Once operational, the plant “will significantly increase power generation in Burkina Faso, reduce dependence on energy imports from Ivory Coast and Ghana and help prevent power cuts”, the EIB said.