SIAD (Service International d’Appui au Développement) and Partners (European Union, Île-de-France Region, 2iE Foundation, Cofides Nord-Sud, URC Nazinon, Fonds de Développement de l’Electrification rurale du Burkina Faso, communities of Guiba and Bindé) inaugurated in March 2017 seven PV mini-grid plants in the rural communities of Guiba and Bindé in Burkina Faso.
The launch of these plants marks one important achievement for a project which started in 2012 with the effort of SIAD and its Partners. The project was born behind the fact that the lack of access to electricity possess a major barrier to the socio-economic development in rural areas, which are often marginalized from grid expansion projects due to their distance to the national transmission grid.
The inauguration of these seven PV minigrids plants was a significant and important step to increase the electrification of rural areas in the ECOWAS member state.
These 7 solar projects have an installed capacity of 7KW and will provide electricity to 5000 inhabitants thanks to the installation of a mini-grid and a battery charging station.
The inauguration marked the end of the construction period and it represented the launch of the electricity production and the economic activities that will benefit from the energy access. Furthermore, SIAD will follow some actions in the communities through its support program to local entrepreneurs. This second component of the project is planned for the period 2017-2019 and will implement capacity building activities on entrepreneurship to 500 project developers, with special attention to the youth and women. It will also have a support component for the purchase of electrical equipment through a micro-credit fund.
250 micro companies are already connected to the 100% renewable electricity grid. Access to electricity will help create jobs, improve the productivity of small businesses, and curb the rural exodus of young people.
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