5 photovoltaic sites, 1,820 solar modules and a power of 587.5 kWp

“120,000 inhabitants of the Nord and Centre-Nord regions of Burkina Faso will be supplied with continuous electricity from the beginning of November by the 5 new solar photovoltaic power plants set up by the joint-venture associating the Burkinabe company VERGNET BURKINA (a subsidiary of VERGNET HYDRO) with the French firm SAGEMCOM ENERGY & TELECOM,” enthuses Jean-Christophe KI, Managing Director of VERGNET BURKINA. These installations are part of the major eco-electrification project for rural areas in the Nord and Centre-Nord regions, managed by the Burkinabe company Société d’Infrastructures collectives (SINCO) and co-financed by the European Union, the National Office for Water and Sanitation (ONEA), the Electrification Development Fund (FDE), the Société Nationale d’Electricité du Burkina (SONABEL), Solidarité Internationale pour le Développement et l’Investissement (SIDI) and SINCO.

The 1,820 solar modules of these 5 photovoltaic sites, located in the villages of Talisma, Saye, Ridimbo and Minima (Northern region) and Noaka (Central-Northern region), generate a power of 587.5 kWp (117.5 kWp on each site). SAGEMCOM ENERGY & TELECOM, lead partner in this project, provided all the equipment. “VERGNET BURKINA’s teams, composed of civil engineering technicians, electrotechnicians and experienced photovoltaic workers, were responsible for earthworks, civil engineering, building construction, solar field assembly and equipment installation.”

Authentic factors in the local economic development

The villagers benefit from this access to electricity via their SINCO subscriptions to the low-voltage grid. The 5 sites are connected to the grid of SONABEL, into which they inject their surplus electricity. “These facilities are authentic factors in the local economic development. Of course, they provide extra comfort for the home. But they also guarantee a continuous source of energy for local mills, mechanical welding workshops, ice production, etc.”