The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced that it will finance a 32 MW solar project planned for development in N’Djamena, Chad’s capital.

The AfDB said that financing includes funds for the improvement of the interconnection line between Chad and Cameroon and the rehabilitation of the generation assets of the country’s power utility National Electricity Company (SNE). The amount of the financial support, however, remained undisclosed.

The Starsol plant is backed by a consortium that includes solar project developer NewSolar Invest, engineering group CIEC Monaco, and infrastructure and renewable energy project financier Arborescence Capital.

The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), which is managed by the AfDB, has granted finance costs related to technical assistance for the completion of the plant design and grid study, as well as advisors for legal and financial structuring of the project.

The solar plant will provide reliable power to address power shortages hampering economic growth in the country, according to the AfDB.

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Implementation of the project will increase installed capacity by 45%, and generate around 64 gigawatt hours of electricity per year: enough to power nearly 17,000 households in the NDjamena area.

The Chad government is looking to increase development of renewable energy in the country, where less than 2% of the population has access to reliable electricity. Most of the power in the country is generated by privately owned diesel generators, putting the price of electricity in the country at a high XAF 345 ($0.57) per kilowatt hour.

The project is aligned with the AfDB Climate Change Action Plan 2011-2015 and Energy Policy as well as the banks Strategy 2013-2022, which focuses on inclusive and green growth in Africa.