€178M availed to build Africa’s largest biomass power plant in Côte d’Ivoire

Biovea Energie has secured €165 million in debt and €13 million in grants from Proparco (AFD Group) and Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (PIDG Group) for the financing of a 46 MW biomass power plant project in Côte d’Ivoire. The facility is set to be the largest, grid-tied biomass power plant in Africa.

The total project cost is estimated at €232 million. The €178 million funding will cover 77% of the project costs, the balance will be provided by the shareholders of Biovea Energie. Biovea Energie is a consortium made up of EDF, Meridiam and the agro-industrial group SIFCA. 

Located in the town of Aboisso, 100 km east of Abidjan, Biovea will be the largest power plant in West Africa powered by agricultural waste and will meet the renewable electricity needs of the equivalent of 1.7 million people per year.

Construction of the biomass plant is scheduled to begin in September 2021 and is expected to be commissioned in 2024. This plant will contribute to Côte d’Ivoire’s ambition to achieve 42% of its energy mix from renewable energy sources by 2030. 

The biomass power plant will also contribute to reducing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating 4.5 million tonnes of Carbon dioxide (CO2) over the duration of the concession (25 years after commissioning).

As a circular economy project, the plant will generate positive impacts on the agricultural sector and the Ivorian agro-industrial sector, in particular through the development of a local biomass sector using waste.

Supplies for biomass fuel will come from the residues of palm leaves from the local crop. The project will improve the living conditions of rural populations and increase the annual income of nearly 12,000 planters by up to 20%. It will also contribute to the fight against deforestation and extensive agriculture by promoting good agricultural practices and increased yields in village plantations. The planters will benefit from the provision of combustion ashes which will be used as natural fertiliser.