ABA Editorial · Oct 3, 2025 · 3 min read
The Government of Mauritania has signed a USD 300 million independent power producer agreement for a hybrid solar-wind plant, one of the flagship deals under the African Development Bank's Desert to Power initiative targeting Sahel renewable generation.
The Government of Mauritania has signed a USD 300 million independent power producer (IPP) agreement for a hybrid solar-wind generation facility, the African Development Bank has announced. The deal is one of the flagship transactions under the Bank's Desert to Power initiative, which aims to mobilize private-sector renewable generation across the Sahel region.
Desert to Power is an African Development Bank initiative designed to accelerate solar and hybrid renewable deployment across the eleven Sahel countries, combining large-scale solar projects with complementary wind, storage, and transmission infrastructure. The region's high solar irradiation and significant energy access gaps create both the opportunity and the need for accelerated renewable investment. Similar projects are in various stages of development across Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, and other Sahel countries.
The Mauritania deal structure combines equity commitments from private developers with debt support from development finance institutions and concessional financing arranged through the African Development Bank's Desert to Power facility. The IPP model allows private developers to build, own, and operate the generation asset while selling electricity under a long-term power purchase agreement with Mauritania's national utility.
Mauritania's energy strategy has identified renewable generation as a priority for expanding domestic electricity access and supporting economic development. The country submitted a National Energy Compact under the Mission 300 framework alongside other participating African governments. Mauritania's combination of high solar resources, wind potential along its Atlantic coast, and a relatively small population makes it one of the most favorable Sahel markets for hybrid renewable development.
The African Development Bank has committed to delivering 50 million of the 300 million new electricity connections under Mission 300. Between 2016 and 2025 the Bank invested approximately USD 12.74 billion in African energy projects, connecting over 28 million people and financing nearly 40,000 kilometers of distribution lines. In 2024 alone, Bank operations enabled the generation of 1,019 megawatts of electricity and provided access to 448,000 people.
The Mauritania IPP deal is the kind of commercial-scale private investment that Mission 300 is explicitly designed to unlock. Delivering the full 300 million target will require approximately USD 30 billion in public funding and at least USD 10 billion in private investment, with independent power producers expected to play a central role in the private-sector component.