AYV News, March 3, 2025
Chairman of the Energy Governance Coordinating Group (EGCG), Dr. Kandeh Yumkella paid on the spot visit to the 10 Megawatts Operational and 15 Megawatts construction sites of the Macoth Solar Power Plant.
Chairman Yumkella was accompanied by the Deputy Minister-2 Designate, Dr. Abdul Rahim Jalloh, Chairman of EGTC, Ing. Alpha, Director General, EGTC, Milton Gegbai, Director General EDSA, Joe Lahai, and several engineers from the Ministry of Energy, EGTC and EDSA. The visit was to get a first-hand assessment of the ongoing expansion work by an additional 15 Megawatts at the Solar Farm which is in an advanced stage.
The 25 Megawatts project, spearhead by Planet Solar Energy, is generating 10 Megawatts of power and the remaining 15 Megawatts will be completed by mid April, according to the Project Manager of PSE.
Chairman Yumkella, together with other members of the delegation expressed excitement over the progress of the project “the visit has been very impressive, and we are excited about how soon they are reaching their 25 Megawatts target in few weeks by April 27th. This will be a good Independence Day gift to residents of Freetown,” said Chairman Yumkella. He also called on Planet Solar Energy to ensure residents of Macothtown get reliable electricity supply.
He called on Planet Solar Energy to consider installing battery storage to have additional power at night. As a way to expand more solar farms across the country under the incoming Mission 300 projects, Dr. Yumkella asked for the collation of more data to get a good sense of operational cost and efficiency.
Planet Solar Energy is also doing a 12 Megawatts project for Bo and Kenema and a 3 Megawatts project for Port Loko, which will all be ready by early next year.
Deputy Minister 2 Designate of Energy, Dr. Jalloh called on the company to keep track of their target and deliver by the scheduled date. DG of EDSA and DG of EGTC all expressed excitement over the fact that, the full 25 Megawatts that will be coming from Macoth to Freetown will greatly help in easing the electricity crisis in the city and at a cheaper rate for customers. However, Chairman Yumkella called on residents of Freetown to have hope and be patient with the energy ministry and said, in 2026, all this crisis will be a thing of the past as the country will transition to a more sustainable and reliable source of energy supply for all.
