The Emerging Africa & Asia Infrastructure Fund (EAAIF), Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO) and German investor Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) have invested €84 million (US$89.2 million) into AXIAN Energy’s Kolda solar-plus-storage portfolio in Senegal.
AXIAN Energy, which is headquartered in Madagascar, will build two PV plants with a combined capacity of 60MW, and a co-located 72MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Kolda, southern Senegal. The company plans to commission the projects in 2026, and will be funded by €30.5 million (US$32.4 million) in debt from EAAIF and FMO, plus €23 million (US$24.4 million) in debt from DEG.
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“Investment in BESS technology will be crucial for assuring the continent’s transition to low carbon economies by supporting additional renewable energy capacity on the grid,” said Tidiane Doucoure, EAAIF fund manager. “This transaction is an important step towards that objective, and we are proud to lead the investment drive, reinforcing our mandate to invest in transformative infrastructure projects in Africa and Asia.”
AXIAN Energy has commissioned solar projects across Africa, including the 30MW Nagreongo project in Burkina Faso, the 15MW Port of Bargny project in Senegal and the 8.5MW Kigali project in Rwanda. It also operates the Ambatolampy project, which includes 40MW of solar capacity and 5MWh of storage, in Madagascar, so has experience in the solar-plus-storage space.
The EAAIF is supported by a number of private investors, including Allianz and Standard Bank, and has invested in infrastructure projects worth over US$2.5 billion across Africa and Asia. However, the AXIAN investment is the fund’s first move into the solar space, following its backing of a biomass plant in the Cote D’Ivoire and a hydropower dam in Gabon.
Co-located solar and storage projects have become popular in Africa, as a means to meet electricity demand in a region that can lack widespread functional grid infrastructure, particularly in South Africa. In April, South Africa opened the largest solar-plus-storage plant in the southern hemisphere, following progress at solar-plus-storage projects owned by Scatec and TotalEnergies in December 2023, as the country looks to minimise load shedding.
“On completion, the Kolda project will provide essential grid stabilisation and ancillary services to Senegal’s utility company, Senelec, in addition to increasing the supply of much-needed clean and affordable electricity to the people and businesses of Senegal, including in the southern region of Casamance,” said FMO management board member Huib-Jan De Ruijter.
