(Business in Cameroon) - The company Eneo, owned by the British investment fund Actis and concessionaire of the public electricity service in Cameroon, has launched a call for expression of interest to recruit a partner who will develop two solar power plants in the northern area of the country. According to Eneo, the selected partner will have the status of independent electricity producer.

The infrastructure meant to be operational by first quarter 2018, we learned, will each have a production capacity of 10 MW, thus 20 MW in total. They will be installed in the towns of Guider, in the Northern region, and Maroua, in the Extreme-North region of Cameroon.

The choice of these towns comes from the fact that the three northern regions (Adamaoua, North, Extreme-North) are, according to experts, the most exposed to the sun in Cameroon. Indeed, as highlighted by a study undertaken some years ago by Arsel, the regulatory body in the electricity sector, the average level of exposure to sunlight in this part of Cameroon is 5.8 kW/m2/day, against 4kW/m2/day only in the South. By moving into solar energy, Endo is at the same time giving a major boost to the diversification of the energy mix in Cameroon, largely dominated by hydroelectricity, with 73.3% of the national production. Thermal energy represents a little over 25% against barely 1% for solar, biomass and wind power combined.

Brice R. Mbodiam