Benin's first solar IPP secures €30 million for four plants totalling 62 MW
Victoria Shinder1 min readAxian, a pan-African conglomerate, has signed a financing agreement for four solar plants in Benin with a combined capacity of 62 MW, pv magazine reported on 30 October. The €30 million package comes from the International Finance Corporation and Proparco, the private-sector arm of the French development bank AFD, with IFC also mobilising money from the Clean Technology Fund. Total project costs are expected to reach €45 million.
The project, IPP50, is billed as Benin's first independent power producer solar project. It covers four plants in Natitingou, Djougou, Parakou and Bohicon, expected to generate about 110 GWh a year, equivalent to an increase of around 17% in domestic generation over 2028 to 2035. The power will be sold to the state-owned utility SBPE under long-term purchase agreements, and each plant is targeted to start commercial operation in the first quarter of 2028. The project is structured as a public-private partnership around concession agreements granted by the government.
For scale: Benin's largest operating solar plant, Illoulofin, has 50 MW built in two phases, according to the Africa Solar Industry Association's database. Axian says IPP50 contributes to Benin's National Energy Compact, which aims to give about 928,000 more households access to electricity by 2030, raise the electrification rate to at least 70% and bring renewables to 30% of generation.
What it means
The number that stands out is not the megawatts but the label. A first IPP sets the template — the concession, the purchase agreement with the state utility, the development-finance package — that later private projects will be priced against. If these four plants reach operation on time in 2028, the next bidder has a reference deal; if they slip, the cost of private capital in Beninese solar goes up for everyone after them.