• Guinea secured €95.16 million to build three micro-hydro plants.
• The plants will generate 30 MW total for underserved central regions.
• Guinea targets SDG 7 by boosting electrification, especially in rural areas.

Guinea faces a chronic electricity shortage and regular blackouts. To fix this, the government is fast-tracking renewable energy projects and grid interconnections. These efforts aim to stabilize power supply, cut costs, and boost the economy.

On July 3, local media reported that the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) approved funding for three micro-hydroelectric plants. These plants will sit in Poukou, Bolokoun, and Biwbaw, all in the Mamou region at the country’s center.

The three plants will generate a combined 30 megawatts. EBID’s Board of Directors approved a €95.16 million investment (about $112.1 million) on June 30. This project arrives as Guinea struggles with frequent power cuts and a stressed national grid, which depends heavily on large hydro plants like Kaléta and Souapiti.

Guinea’s electrification rate stood at 44.1% in 2022, but only 19.1% in rural areas, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB). To reach off-grid communities, the government is pushing decentralized solutions. This strategy fits with Guinea’s National Energy Plan (AEMP) and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7).

The plan aims to electrify 671,000 households through grid extension and smart meters. It also targets 50,000 isolated homes with mini-grids, based on data from the World Bank and AfDB. These efforts support SDG 7’s goal of universal energy access by 2030, combining hydroelectric and solar power with network expansion.

So far, officials have not released a detailed timeline. They have yet to announce when construction will start, how long engineering and building will take, or when the plants will go online.

Micro-hydroelectric plants offer a key advantage: they produce electricity close to remote communities. Because they are small, they don’t need long transmission lines and can operate independently.

EBID says the project will involve Guinea’s Energy Management Company of the Upper Senegal River Basin Works (SOGEOH) and local firms for engineering and civil works.

Abdel-Latif Boureima

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