United Kingdom government-owned finance institution British International Investment, Dutch development bank FMO and French finance development institution Proparco said in a press release they poured $52 million of investment into a 50 MW solar project in Sierra Leone.

Dubai-headquartered energy company Planet One Group announced in 2018 that construction had started on the project, titled Planet Solar, and the company had signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and Ministry of Energy.

In 2022 California-based energy company Frontier Energy trumpeted it had become the majority owner of Planet Solar, located in four locations – Kenema, Port Loko, Makoth and Kono.

The project is expected to increase the Western African country’s installed electricity capacity by 30%, according to Proparco Deputy Head of Private Equity Africa and Middle East, Tibor Asboth. Proparco said in the press release that Planet Solar will be the first large-scale grid-connected solar Independent Power Producer (IPP) in the country.

Frontier Energy states on its website that generated power will be sold to the government-owned utility, Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA).

Sierra Leone had 9 MW of solar installed capacity at the end of last year, which is more than double its recorded capacity from 2021, the International Renewable Energy Agency said.