S African tie-up to build 500-MW solar park in Cameroon - report

Nov 21, 2013 - A consortium led by South African GSC Energy will construct a 500-MW solar park in Cameroon, investing USD 2.2 billion (EUR 1.6bn) in the project, Reuters said Wednesday.

GSC Energy has struck a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Cameroon for the solar farm’s construction, according to the report. The consortium also includes Italian PLC System, German Sun Value, South African Consolidated Power Projects and Canadian-South African Hatch Goba. They are expected to start a feasibility study in three weeks, while construction works are scheduled to commence 18 months after the end of the study.

The project will be funded through a mix of debt and equity, the news agency cited GSC Energy’s chairman Steven Moti as saying.

The development of the scheme is part of Cameroon’s initiative to pour XAF 6 trillion (USD 12.3bn/EUR 915m) to boost its power production to 3,000 MW by 2020. The plan envisages the construction of hydropower, thermal and solar plants.

The output of the solar plant will be enough to increase power generation in Cameroon by over 50%. The country has an installed power capacity of just 933 MW and is searching for options to tackle with insufficient power supply.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.7445)
(XAF 100 = USD 0.205/EUR 0.152)

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