By:Renwablenow

France’s Voltalia SA (EPA:VLTSA) and its compatriot Entech SE have secured a deal to build a 60-MW solar park with batteries for Axian Energy, a unit of Pan-African group Axian, in Senegal.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract concerns what will become one of West Africa’s largest photovoltaic (PV) sites and the largest one combining solar and energy storage, Entech said on Thursday. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

Scheduled for commissioning in 2026, the photovoltaic (PV) farm will be installed in the Kolda region of the Casamance area of southern Senegal. It will be coupled with two battery energy storage systems (BESS), each with a capacity of 10 MW/45 MWh, which will be supplied and installed by Entech.

The Kolda solar-storage park is set to be the first of its kind in Casamance. Its operation is expected to increase the share of solar-generated electricity fed into the public grid and strengthen its stability, while also supporting Senegal's goal for 40% renewable energy capacity by 2030. The project calls for an investment of over EUR 105 million (USD 119.5m), a portion of which coming from debt extended by the Emerging Africa & Asia Infrastructure Fund (EAAIF), Dutch FMO and Germany's DEG.