Project’s title: Rural areas’ Power production  from Jatropha oils

Country : Côte d’Ivoire

Geographical situation: Lacs regions, Bandama valley, Savannah areas

Targeted sector: CDM small scale projects: Supplying electricity to the network from a renewable energy source

Project’s Present status and phases:
Conception phase: in progress
Technical studies/ preliminary financing: in progress
Feasibility studies: in progress

Project start date:   2009
Project life span:    30 ans
Reckoning period: 10 ans

Environmental problems: The power production in Ivory Coast is of a thermal and interconnected type. Fossil energy consumption generates emissions of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases, conjugated with the global warming cause natural disasters and immense economic losses.

Project targets :
The project aims at producing Jatropha oil from jatropha cultivated on lands confirmed by satellites pictures to be damaged. This non-etherified oil will be used for the power stations to supply electricity to the network.

Context: At the end the year 2007, only 2600 areas in Ivory Coast were electrified over a total of 8500, that’s about 30%. There still have enormous disparities between urban areas and rural areas.
In rural areas, less than 19% homes still not have access to electricity and are poor.
This project plans to raise the rate of rural homes electrification to 50% up to 2012. This will improve the standard of living for about 600.000 people.
The Ivorian electric network is characterized by a limited capacity and is facing: demands, Powercuts, fossil fuels high cost, facilities decay, and network saturation. This situation especially causes problems as for growth capacity concerning mainly rural electrification.
Thanks to the CDM project, it is, henceforth, possible to achieve this project that will permit to fill the regional gaps.

Financial aspects

- Studies related to environmental impact and feasibility are being achieved.
- Damaged lands are under negotiation. Some negotiations are in progress for obtaining a long lease.
- At institutional level, negotiations are envisaged with the purpose of signing sale and purchase agreements with the Energy sector in Ivory Coast.

Technology to use
This technology consists of installing micro-cogeneration units or mini power stations with the purpose of a combined production of heat and electricity from pure Jatropha oil, non etherified. The electricity will be connected to the national network. We must also install the materials and specific facilities, make fuels’ storage, sign some contracts with suppliers, build road networks, establish distribution channels, follow the regulation; get approvals for the project’s implementation; and start activities. The implementation will be based on procedures related to environment, maintenance, and security. It should lead to the sale of electricity or heat to the network.

Methodology: AMS – I. D Power network connected to a renewable energy source.

Yearly average estimate of avoided or reduce emission: 300.000 tons equivalent of CO2/year

The project will allow:

- Creation of various economic activities
- Social, local and national development
-  Job creation
- Access to home electricity

The Sustained Development and the country’s priorities consists of:

• Creating jobs
• Developping a new technology
• Producing  electricity in areas that do not have access to conventional energy
• Developing a new type of  farmers (agro energy resources)
• Developing  modern agriculture by using machines  instead of manual agriculture
• Creating favourable conditions to the development handicraft, small businesses, etc.
• Access to first healthcare
• Evironment preservation