Kahone Solaire SA will implement the Kahone plant and Kael Solaire SA will implement the Touba plant. Both project companies are special purpose vehicles incorporated in Senegal.

The project companies are owned 40% by Engie Global Developments BV, 26.3% by Meridiam Infrastructure Africa Fund FIPS, 13.7% by Meridiam Infrastructure Africa Parallel Fund FIPS and 20% by Fonsis SA.

Engie Global Developments BV is a 99% indirectly owned subsidiary of Engie SA, one of the world’s largest integrated utility companies, active in 70 countries, with 113 GW of installed capacity globally (of which 23 GW are renewable energy assets).

Meridiam Infrastructure Africa Fund FIPS and Meridiam Infrastructure Africa Parallel Fund FIPS are managed by Meridiam SAS, an experienced global infrastructure fund manager with c. EUR6 billion of assets under management across 58 projects in the Americas, Europe and Africa.

Fonsis SA is the sovereign wealth fund of the Republic of Senegal. Incorporated in 2013 and structured as an investment holding company, Fonsis has a strategy of leveraging its capital base to make equity and debt investments in private sector enterprises to support sustainable growth and job creation.

The total project cost is estimated at up to EUR26 million for the Kahone plant and up to EUR22 million for the Touba plant. The proposed IFC investment is up to EUR13 million, comprising: i) an A Loan of up to EUR3.5 million and a concessional senior loan of the same amount from IFC acting as Implementing Entity of the Finland-IFC Blended Finance for Climate Program to Kahone Solaire SA; and ii) an A loan of up to EUR3 million and a concessional senior loan of the same amount from IFC acting as Implementing Entity of the Finland-IFC Blended Finance for Climate Program to Kael Solaire SA.

Proparco and EIB are expected to provide the balance of the debt through senior loans of up to EUR7 million each to Kahone Solaire SA and up to EUR6 million each to Kael Solaire SA.                                               

The Kahone plant will be located near the town of Kahone in Kaolack region in Senegal, approximately 200 kilometers southeast of the capital city, Dakar. The Touba plant will be located near the town of Touba in Diourbel region, approximately 190 kilometers east of Dakar.

This proposed investment is an E&S Category B project according to IFC’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability, because potential adverse environmental or social risks and/or impacts are limited, few in numbers, site-specific, largely reversible and readily addressed through mitigation measures.

During construction, key environmental and social risks and impacts include air emissions and noise that could temporarily disturb surrounding residents, occupational health and safety (OHS) of construction workers, community safety, vegetation removal, influx of outsiders and risks of HIV/AIDS, and economic displacement. During operations, risks and impacts include water extraction for cleaning purpose, erosion and dust generation resulting from vegetation removal, and waste management. Main positive impacts include employment opportunities, electricity production, and reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG).