WB Synergy SAS
Co-sponsor. Project structuring, financial modelling, bankability preparation, coordination of studies and engagement with development finance institutions.
Project page
Ntui Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant
250 MWdc installed, 200 MWac injected, with battery storage - Centre Region, Cameroon
Early-stage development - pre-feasibility complete Position as at 28 September 2026 - financial model V4.4 parameters
A utility-scale solar project developed under a public-private partnership with the Conseil Régional du Centre, in consortium with TES Technologies SARL, our strategic and technical partner in Cameroon.
Our role and our partners' roles
TES Technologies SARL
Strategic and technical partner in Cameroon. A Cameroonian company active in high-standard electricity infrastructure projects and technology integration. Local anchoring, technical and operational interface.
Conseil Régional du Centre
Contracting public authority, within Cameroon's decentralisation framework. Public party to the partnership.
Project characteristics
| Location | Ntui municipality, Mbam-et-Kim division, Centre Region, Cameroon |
|---|---|
| Injected capacity | 200 MWac at the connection point - reading to be confirmed in the connection agreement |
| Installed capacity | 250 MWdc of modules, a direct-to-alternating current ratio of 1.25 |
| Storage | 60 MW / 120 MWh, two hours of discharge - supporting the evening peak and system stability |
| Technology | Fixed-tilt structures on driven piles. The single-axis trackers specified until August 2026 were dropped: at this level of irradiation they justified neither their capital cost nor thirty years of maintenance. |
| Reference production | 328,400 MWh in year 1 (P50, 80% performance ratio), or 1,314 kWh/kWp - sponsor estimate, to be confirmed by the independent yield study |
| Envisaged connection | 225 kV substation and evacuation line to the Southern Interconnected Grid; approximately 30 km carried in the model, route and injection limit to be confirmed with SONATREL |
| Land footprint | Approximately 600 to 664 hectares, to be confirmed by land and cadastral surveys and by the impact assessment |
| Indicative schedule | Financial close 2027, 24 months of construction, commissioning 2029, 30 years of operation |
| Offtaker | To be finalised. Anticipated counterparty: SOCADEL, subject to confirmation. No power purchase agreement is signed to date. |
| Structure | Public-private partnership with the Centre Regional Council |
| Stage | Early-stage development - pre-feasibility completed |
What the selected scenario assumes
Financial model V4.4 is explicitly conditional. Three items, none of them yet secured, carry the selected scenario: without them the project does not finance in its present form. We publish them because a project whose conditions are unknown is not a project anyone has assessed.
| Condition | Nature and status |
|---|---|
| Ten-year corporate income tax exemption |
Under Law No. 2013/004 on private investment incentives, within an investment convention. The application has still to be filed; no decision has been obtained.
Administrative decision - not granted |
| Operations and maintenance contract with capped escalation |
Contractual escalation limited to 3% per year on the largest operating cost line. At this stage this is an assumption: no contract is signed.
Commercial contract - to be negotiated |
| Injected capacity read at 200 MWac |
The injection limit at the connection point, for 250 MWdc installed upstream. Put to ARSEL and SONATREL; it will have to be settled in the connection agreement.
Regulatory and technical confirmation - to be confirmed |
These three are not of the same kind. The third is a matter for the regulator and the grid operator, and was put to ARSEL at the working session of 8 September 2026; the first is a separate administrative decision and the second a commercial negotiation. No administration consulted has pronounced on their outcome, and we attribute no view to any of them here.
Institutional dialogue under way
By correspondence of 27 August 2026, the Electricity Sector Regulatory Agency invited the consortium to a working session, held on 8 September 2026 and chaired by its Director General. The project was presented there across its technical, economic, financial, regulatory and environmental dimensions, including the elements not yet established. The questions submitted concerned the applicable title regime, the composition of the file, the reading of injected capacity, connection conditions, justification of the purchase price, indexation and the valuation of the storage service. The guidance received is being incorporated. In the days that followed, first-contact letters were addressed to the Ministry of Water and Energy, to the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development and to SONATREL, and an amendment letter to SOCADEL.
These are approaches and consultations. They carry no authorisation, no approval and no commitment from any of the entities named.
Milestones achieved and next steps
Milestones achieved
- Memorandum of understanding signed between the Conseil Régional du Centre and the TES Technologies - WB Synergy consortium
- Initial project concept note
- Conceptual document issued to the Conseil Régional du Centre
- Conceptual Summary V3.0 - full rebuild of technical, financial and market content
- Financial Model V2.2 and bankability memorandum
- Working session at ARSEL, at the Agency's invitation
- Financial model V4.4 - reconfigured to 250 MWdc / 200 MWac with storage doubled
- First-contact letters to MINEE, MINEPAT and SONATREL; amendment letter to SOCADEL
Next steps
- Independent P50/P90 yield study and on-site measurement campaign
- Land control: surveys, titles and easements
- Full environmental and social impact assessment to IFC Performance Standards
- Grid-connection studies and agreement with SONATREL
- Power purchase agreement term sheet with the offtaker
- Competitive EPC tender and capital cost validation
Why this site
The site lies immediately adjacent to the planned 225/30 kV Ntui substation, part of the RIS-RIN interconnection project - a double-circuit 225 kV backbone of approximately 530 km linking the Southern and Northern interconnected grids, scheduled over 2023-2027. The line is financed by the World Bank (IDA); the four 225/30 kV substations, Ntui among them, are financed by the Islamic Development Bank. That proximity is the project's principal grid-integration argument. The connection point, voltage level and permitted export capacity must be confirmed through connection studies and an agreement with SONATREL.
Cameroon power sector context
National installed capacity stood at 2,011 MW in 2025, of which roughly 70% hydropower - output exposed to dry-season low flows. Solar accounts for only about 3% of installed capacity. Commissioning of the Nachtigal hydropower plant (420 MW) over 2024-2025 increased national capacity by around 30%, without removing the seasonality of the resource or transmission constraints. A solar project with storage provides complementary daytime energy, reduces reliance on thermal generation and supports grid stability.
Sources: data presented by the Ministry of Water and Energy, November 2025; World Bank, January 2025.
Environmental impact - method and limitations
On the basis of net production of 328,400 MWh in year 1 and an average Cameroonian grid emission factor of 0.2259 tCO₂e/MWh (lifecycle carbon intensity; Ember / Our World in Data, 2024), avoided emissions are estimated at approximately 74,200 tCO₂e for the first year of operation.
Method. Method: avoided emissions = net electricity exported × grid emission factor. Factor used: average carbon intensity of Cameroon's electricity grid, 2024 data (Ember, via Our World in Data, 2025 release).
Limitation. Methodological limitation: this grid-average factor, pulled down by the hydro-dominated mix, is conservative. A combined-margin factor established under the UNFCCC Tool07 methodology would likely give a higher result. This estimate is indicative and will be updated during the environmental and social impact assessment.
Integrity note. Earlier versions of this project's documentation cited an avoided-emissions figure of 131,400 tCO₂ per year, together with cumulative return-on-investment and break-even indicators. These are not carried over: they are expressly superseded by the Conceptual Summary V3.0 of 8 July 2026, which is the sole document in force.
The information on this page is provided for general information only and constitutes neither an offer, nor a solicitation, nor a contractual commitment. The project's financial data are confidential and are not published. The project is in development: its realisation remains subject to obtaining permits, securing land, concluding contracts and reaching financial close.