Ivory Coast's energy minister, Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly, launched work on three solar plants with a combined 152 megawatts-peak (MWp) in the north between October 22 and October 24, Sika Finance reported. They include a 52 MWp plant at Tongon, costing an estimated 33bn FCFA (€50.3mn) and developed by Ivorian-owned Tongon Solaire, and a 50 MWp plant at Binguébougou, near Korhogo, developed by Emirati group AMEA Power.
Analysis: The planned plants would more than double the country's existing 136 MW of grid-connected solar capacity, though solar would remain a small part of the 3,019 MW installed in 2024. The projects could provide work for construction, solar equipment and grid companies. Tongon Solaire is responsible for financing, building and operating its plant for 25 years and expects nearly 500 construction jobs. Financing has not been announced. Tongon is now scheduled to begin construction in 2027 and start operating by mid-2028, later than the end-2027 commissioning date previously given by the government.
Source: Sika Finance (Abidjan), Sika Finance, 'Côte d'Ivoire : Avec Tongon et Binguébougou, plus de 100 MWc de solaire vont renforcer le réseau électrique' (October 26, 2026), October 22–24, 2026 and Launched October 23, 2026 and Launched October 24, 2026 and October 2026 and By 2030; Direction Générale de l'Économie, Ministère de l'Économie / MEPD, Portail de l'économie ivoirienne, Électricité, 2024