IRENA, Burkina Faso discuss opportunities for accelerated renewable energy deployment
The Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Mr. Francesco La Camera and the President of Burkina Faso, His Excellency Roch Marc Christian Kaboré met at the IRENA headquarters in Abu Dhabi and discussed opportunities for accelerated renewable energy deployment in Burkina Faso and identified concrete steps to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
They exchanged views on the role renewable energy can play in increasing energy access in Burkina Faso, and its potential to bring stable, reliable power to healthcare facilities in the country.
Furthermore, renewable energy’s centrality to sustainable economic growth was also emphasized, with renewable energy positioned as a catalyst for the country’s development strategy. IRENA’s new project facilitation focus and the recently launched Climate Investment Platform, a joint initiative designed to mobilise renewable energy investment and accelerate its deployment, also featured.
At the Tenth Session of the IRENA Assembly earlier this year, Burkina Faso was selected to receive a loan of US$5.5 million as a part of the seventh cycle of the IRENA/ADFD Project Facility.
The loan will contribute to the construction of a 3 MW solar PV power plant in the country extending electricity to approximately 40,000 people in rural areas. Burkina Faso has ambitious plans to source 50 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2030 (excluding biomass).
