Guinea-Bissau outdoor power supply recommendation

Description:Guinea Bissau has seen some progress in building its energy infrastructure. However, vast areas of Guinea Bissau remain literally in the dark. Rural electrification has reached dozens of communities through the expansion of mini-grids and the projected construction of the national grid.

The electricity sector in Guinea Bissau is in the midst of a transformational reform towards a sustainable development characterized by reliable, greener and affordable service delivery.

8. Around US$ 263 million of public and private funding will be needed to achieve universal electricity access in Guinea Bissau by 2030. To achieve this goal, a combination of grid (70%) and off-grid (30%) solutions will be required to bring 400,000 additional new connections18.

In Bissau, solar photovoltaic (PV) plants will help reduce the average cost of electricity in the country and diversify the energy mix, while battery storage will help integrate this variable energy source into the grid. In Bafata, Gabu and Cacheu, the PV plants will provide cheaper and cleaner local power generation than current diesel production.

Guinea-Bissau has one of the lowest electrification rates in Sub-Saharan Africa with only 29 percent2 of the population -around 53 percent in urban areas- having access to electricity (Figure 1).

The associated ECOWAS regional access project will boost electricity access in Guinea-Bissau to 39 percent16. The OMVG will have around 300 km of a 225 kV transmission line in Guinea Bissau, and four high-voltage 225/30 kV substations (Mansoa, Bissau, Bambadinca and Saltinho).