Desert to Power: Progress at the 5th Ministerial Meeting
Representatives of six member countries of the Desert to Power Initiative approved, in Ouagadougou, key strategic documents to stimulate independent electricity production in the Sahel, on the occasion of the 5th ministerial meeting related to the initiative led by the African Development Bank (BAD).
The meeting was chaired by Yacouba Zabré Gouba, Minister of Energy, Mines and Carriers of Burkina Faso, in the presence of the Energy Ministers of Djibouti, Niger and Chad, as well as representatives of their counterparts from Mali and Mauritania.
This important meeting allowed us to take stock of the progress made in implementing the Desert to Power Initiative and to approve two key strategic documents: the Common Protocol for Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the Strategy for Promoting Green Mini-Grids.
The Desert to Power Initiative
Launched in 2019 by the AfDB, the Desert to Power initiative aims to transform the vast solar potential of eleven Sahel countries — Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan — into an engine of sustainable development.
The plan aims to generate ten gigawatts of solar power by 2030, a monumental feat that promises to bring electricity to 250 million people, many of whom still live with extreme difficulties in accessing energy.
The plan also aims to provide electrification to approximately 90 million people for the first time in history, freeing them from unhealthy and unsafe energy sources such as kerosene and firewood. Currently, approximately 64% of the Sahel population lives without access to electricity, a situation that has hindered progress in education, health, and economic integration.
With a robust design, the initiative is based on five pillars: grid-connected solar generation, strengthening regional transmission networks, off-grid and mini-grid solutions, technical preparation for public operators, and the creation of favorable conditions for the private sector.
At the same time, the Mauritania-Mali program, with 225 kV interconnection, should guarantee electricity to around 100.000 households, facilitating cross-border energy trade.
The Project
The AfDB approved an initial $379,6 million specifically for the five G5 Sahel countries—Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger—to finance large solar plants and storage systems, which could unleash more than 500 additional MW, reducing emissions of more than 14,4 million tons of CO₂ over the projects' lifetime.
These funds for the Desert to Power initiative will be complemented by $150 million from the Green Climate Fund, creating leverage that will mobilize up to $XNUMX billion in public and private investment. In parallel with the financial investment, technical and institutional support mechanisms will be strengthened.
The Global Center on Adaptation is providing tools to assess climate risks and guide developers through solar adaptation during planning. The AfDB and its partners have also launched regular ministerial meetings and created national coordination units to ensure smooth implementation.
The Common Protocol 'PIE', developed in close collaboration with the Desert to Power working group and the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF), establishes principles and standardized documents to facilitate the development of large-scale solar power plants under public-private partnerships (PPP).
The aim of the mini-grid strategy is to define a framework to accelerate their implementation and encourage participation.
The 5th Ministerial Meeting
The ministers welcomed the significant progress made in the Desert to Power Initiative, including the implementation of more than fifteen projects, the first of which are already operational. They also emphasized the importance of efforts to strengthen implementation.
The exchanges continued within the framework of a technical workshop on financial modeling, aimed at strengthening financial analysis tools for the viability of national electricity companies in the Sahel. The active participation of the general directors and financial directors of the national electricity companies in this meeting underscores the initiative's operational roots.
Kevin Kariuki, Vice-President responsible for Electricity, Energy, Climate and Green Growth at the AfDB, congratulated the ministers, noting that the validated Common Protocol constitutes an important lever to accelerate the development of privately financed solar projects for the benefit of the population of the Sahel.
He also urged countries to leverage Mission 300, a bold effort between the AfDB and the World Bank that aims to provide access to electricity to an additional 300 million people in Africa by 2030, to drive universal access to electricity in their respective countries.
“Mission 300 is a movement based on coordinated actions, committed political leadership, and focused execution, in which we cannot leave any country out.”, he said.
On the sidelines of the work, participants carried out a field visit to the Gonsin photovoltaic plant, northwest of Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou.
This plant, with an installed capacity of 42 MWp, built as part of the Desert to Power Initiative, has a ten-megawatt storage system, perfectly illustrating the concrete results and impact of the Initiative in Burkina Faso.
Conclusion
With the approval of the Common Protocol of Independent Electricity Producers (IPPs) and the Strategy for the Promotion of Mini-Green Grids, at the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the Desert to Power Initiative, the commitment to public-private models and decentralized solutions to accelerate access to electricity is confirmed.
Furthermore, the technical support and participation of financial leaders from national companies demonstrate a growing commitment to the economic viability and sustainability of projects. The event reinforced the message: only with strong partnerships, political leadership, and effective regulatory instruments will it be possible to illuminate the Sahel.
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Picture: © 2025 AfDB
