Renewables developer Amea Power has announced plans to add a 4 MWh BESS to the Mohammed Bin Zayed solar plant in Blitta prefecture, central Togo. It will add storage to the park “to meet demand during the evening hours, when renewable energy is not available,” an Amea Power spokesperson said.

The developer will also expand the project from 50 MW to 70 MW. It claims the complex will be West Africa’s largest solar park after the extension.

The Abu Dhabi Exports Office will finance the expansion by providing the Togolese Ministry of Economy and Finance with a loan of $25 million. Amea Power’s subsidiary, Amea Togo Solar, will sell electricity to Togo Electric Power under a 25-year power purchase agreement, the spokesperson added.

The project expansion will be built by Amea Technical Services. Amea Power developed the first and second phases of the Mohammed Bin Zayed solar plant in 18 months, with operations starting in June 2021. The project was first announced in November 2019.

The extended complex will power more than 222,000 households in Togo, where nearly half the population does not have access to electricity. The project is part of the country's National Development Plan, with the objective of providing universal access to electricity by 2030.