A British Renewable energy group has entered a milestone agreement with Idris Elba and Siaka Stevens’ development company to build the first wind farm in Sierra Lepone as part of the Sherbro Island City Project.
Announced at COP28, Octopus Energy’s generation collaboration and project with Sherbro Alliance Partners (SAP) will help accelerate the country’s renewable opportunity and collect vital data to foster greater investment into green energy on Sherbro Island, across Sierra Leone and beyond.
The deal will see a first-of-it-kind renewable project built for the country in 2024, with the potential to expand the partnership in the future.
Up to five wind turbines and solar panels with batteries will generate clean electricity for local communities. The partners are exploring options for the location of the site on Sherbro Island, which will create green job opportunities and training for local people.
This comes as around 28 percent of Sierra Leone’s population is estimated to have access to electricity, with the country targeting 85 percent renewable electricity capacity by 2030 – underscoring the massive potential to rapidly scale affordable clean energy to more people.
Sherbro Island is a designated semi-autonomous Special Economic Zone, which allows the private sector entities and investors to lead in the island’s development activities and transform Sherbro Island into a vibrant West African Economic hub and dynamic eco-city, where global citizens can live, learn, research, work and play.
The Agreement will see SAP, an infrastructure development company co-founded by award-winning actor Idris Elba and grandson of the former President of Sierra Leone Siaka Stevens, and Octopus open offices in Sierra Leone.
Elba said, “We’re pleased to partner with Octopus who share a profound commitment to sustainable energy which will be a backbone to development of Sherbro.”
Siaka Stevens, co-founder of Sherbro Alliance Partners, said: “Sherbro Island City is being founded on sustainable principles, and will be fueled by clean energy sources. Over the last few years, our mission has been to transform Sherbro and ignite a new way of building African cities. Africa needs new cities.”
Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation, said: “We are incredibly excited to be working with Idris, Siaka and their team who are really visionaries creating a vibrant and sustainable future in Sherbro Island in Sierra Leone.”
Source: COP28: Agreement signed for the first wind farm in Sierra Leone (esi-africa.com)