The Ivorian government is aiming for a 42% renewable energy mix by 2030. We look at projects from off-grid water supply to massive solar installations that can supply tens of thousands of homes with green energy.
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00:00 This tap is a lifesaver.
00:03 Every day it gives people from nearby villages clean water,
00:06 something that can't be taken for granted in this rural part of central Ivory Coast.
00:12 There's no water in our village because there's no well.
00:18 That's why we come here, to get the water.
00:26 The water has to be pumped from underground, but the area is off the electricity grid.
00:31 Instead, solar energy provides the power for the pump.
00:35 From small beginnings 12 years ago, the settlement,
00:38 which includes a religious center and a home for teenage girls,
00:41 now has four water towers and 24 solar panels with a total output of 4,500 watts.
00:48 That's enough to power their drinking water, lighting, refrigeration and communications.
00:54 At the beginning there was only one unit, because there was only one house to supply, this one.
01:01 Then came the girls' center, and after that the settlement expanded with three new buildings.
01:08 Then there were two more large buildings, and as time went on, we completed the installation.
01:14 That's why there are several solar panel arrays here.
01:18 It's not just Ivory Coast's rural off-grid settlements,
01:24 but also its urban areas that can benefit from renewable energy.
01:27 The challenge is how to safely build up infrastructure and ensure reliable supply.
01:32 In 2022, four professional associations joined forces to form a federation
01:38 so they could speak to the government with one voice,
01:41 for example when it comes to dealing with surplus electricity.
01:45 We would like to see the sector authorized to feed electricity into the national grid.
01:52 When you aren't able to consume all the solar energy you produce,
01:56 and you can't divert it to the grid, you lose out,
02:00 and that reduces the added value of solar investments.
02:08 That's a pressing question for investors,
02:11 as Ivory Coast has pledged to increase the share of renewables in its energy mix to 45% by 2030.
02:19 In the north of the country, the Bundiali solar farm is the first of more than a dozen projects
02:24 aimed at reaching that target.
02:26 The 78-hectare facility, overseen by the state-owned CI Energies, costs 40 million euros.
02:32 It was made possible by a loan from Germany's KfW development bank
02:37 and a grant from the European Union.
02:43 We're aiming to produce 5,100 megawatts of electricity for Côte d'Ivoire,
02:49 including around 400 megawatts of solar power.
02:52 We have a number of projects with private sector partners,
02:55 but the Bundiali power plant is the first to be built by the state.
02:59 The Bundiali power plant is expected to generate 37 megawatts of power,
03:04 enough to supply 30,000 households per year.
03:08 And such projects create more than just electricity.
03:11 They boost employment chances, although women are underrepresented in the green energy sector.
03:17 The German development agency GIZ has set up a mentoring programme to counter that.
03:22 This energy project manager has taken a young student under her wing
03:27 and is helping her to find an internship.
03:30 I take these courses seriously and make the most of them by asking lots of questions.
03:35 The electrical engineer says she remembers what her career start was like
03:39 and really wants to see change.
03:42 Out of 15 engineers, I was the only woman. That's already a problem right there.
03:48 We need to raise awareness more generally to tell women that it's possible to do this.
03:56 The ProFair mentoring project aims to increase the proportion of women in the renewable sector
04:01 from 25% to 40% in the near future.