The Togolese government plans to develop solar projects at Sokodé and Kara solar photovoltaic power plants with capacities of of 60 to 80 MWp. These projects are being developed under the “Scaling Solar” programme of the International Finance Corporation. The solar power plants will be installed respectively in the localities of Salimde, in the Division of Tchaoudjo, Sokodé and Awandjelo in the prefecture of Kozah, Kara.
The Togolese government has announced a draft decree on the construction of the Sokodé and Kara solar power plants. The decree is expected to allow the start of compensation and expropriation procedures in order to secure the perimeters of the sites identified for the projects. These projects have already been the subject of a pre-qualification notice from the Togolese Agency for Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy (AT2ER) in January 2020.
Togo joined the Scaling Solar programme in July 2019 with the goal of producing 90 MWp through independent power producers. The Sokodé and Kara solar power plants will helpreduce Togo’s energy dependence on the outside world and achieve universal coverage by 2030, and increase the share of renewable energy in the national electricity mix to nearly half. In February 2021, the Togolese Agency for Electrification and Renewable Energies (AT2ER) declared 129 rural localities that will be electrified in the first phase of the programme for electrification using solar mini-grids. These localities are spread across five regions of the country, which are the Maritime region, Kara, the Savanes, the Central region, and the Plateaux region.