The president of the Togolese Republic, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, has launched the program “CI-ZO”, a rural electrification initiative aimed at bringing solar energy to two million people in the country’s remote areas with no connection to the power system by 2022.
If achieved, this target would enable the country to raise the rural electrification rate of its isolated areas from 7% currently to 40% by 2022.
The initiative will be financed through a public fund of 8.7 billion CFA ($14.8 million) and private investments in the amount of 60 billion CFA ($102.4 million). The solar kits will be distributed by private companies, the government added.
The pilot phase of the program, which is expected to bring power to around 20,000 households, will be completed by the end of this year. Overall, the government hopes that the program will reach 300,000 households.
Togo is one of the smallest countries in Africa, with a population of approximately 7.5 million. According to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Togo is currently being provided with power by thermal plants, imports from Nigeria and Ghana, and some hydropower. The country, however, has good potential renewable energy resources thanks to a solar radiation of 1,700-2,100 kWh per square meter per year.