Minister of Water and Energy Gaston Eloundou Essomba (photo) will officially inaugurate two solar power plants, with a combined capacity of 30 megawatts (MW), in Maroua and Guider this week.  

According to the press release announcing the working visit, the official commissioning of those two plants will substantially improve public electricity service in the northern part, “which was once subject to drastic drops in production from the Lagdo dam.”

The two plants started injecting their power production into the northern interconnected network late last year. In the first quarter of this year, they were already injecting 18 MW into the interconnected network, according to electric utility ENEO. 

For the electric utility, by injecting their production into the network, the two plants helped avoid load shedding in the Far North, the North, and the Adamaoua in the first three months of 2023. 

To date, Cameroon has invested very little in solar power, which accounts for barely 0.1% of its supply, compared with 62% for hydroelectric power, 24% for thermal power stations, and 14% for gas-fired plants, according to figures contained in ENEO's 2020 annual report.

Michel Ange Nga