Industrial-focused solar plant serving cement and agro-industry in Northern Cameroon's largest industrial basin — 25.5 MWc with 24.38 MWh battery storage.
Figuil Solar is a 25.5 MWc ground-mounted photovoltaic power plant located within Northern Cameroon's principal industrial basin — a concentration of cement manufacturing, agro-industrial processing, and extractive industries whose energy security is fundamental to the region's economic activity. The project is paired with 24.38 MWh of Lithium Iron Phosphate battery storage (BESS), enabling both reliable baseload delivery and tariff-differentiated dispatchable supply to the grid.
Positioned at the Figuil source substation for direct grid injection, the plant addresses the same structural deficit afflicting the Northern Interconnected Network (RIN) as its partner project, Lagdo Solar — namely the inadequacy of hydroelectric generation during low-water periods and the prohibitive cost of diesel thermal backup. Figuil Solar's industrial demand anchor provides revenue visibility that complements Lagdo's grid-stabilisation role, and the two plants are designed to be managed in a coordinated manner within the broader programme.
Industrial demand anchor: The Figuil basin is home to CIMENCAM cement operations and SODECOTON agro-industrial processing, as well as emerging mining industries. Energy supply disruptions carry direct production cost consequences for these offtakers. The solar tariff of 53 FCFA/kWh (73 FCFA/kWh with storage dispatch) represents approximately 70% savings against the marginal cost of diesel thermal generation (240–300 FCFA/kWh), creating strong commercial alignment between the plant's economics and industrial demand security.
The Figuil industrial basin concentrates several categories of energy-intensive industry whose operational continuity depends on reliable power supply. These are the demand anchors that underpin the project's commercial rationale, as documented in the Investment Memorandum prepared by Rubis Group Limited.
Figuil Solar forms part of the wider Northern Cameroon Solar Programme alongside Lagdo Solar. The following impact metrics are reported at programme level in the project's Investment Memorandum and are presented as developer projections.
Lagdo Solar and Figuil Solar share a common technical specification and financial structure but serve distinct demand profiles — Lagdo providing grid stabilisation via hydro-solar integration, Figuil securing industrial demand in a manufacturing basin. The two plants are designed for coordinated management and share programme-level economies of scale.
| Parameter | Figuil Solar ◀ | Lagdo Solar | Programme Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 25.5 MWc | 40 MWc | 65.5 MWc |
| Battery storage | 24.38 MWh | 24.38 MWh | 48.76 MWh |
| Annual production (P50) | 55 GWh | 85 GWh | 140 GWh |
| Site area | ~50 hectares | ~80 hectares | ~130 hectares |
| Tariff (without storage) | 53 FCFA/kWh | 46 FCFA/kWh | — |
| Tariff (with storage) | 73 FCFA/kWh | 66 FCFA/kWh | — |
| Equity IRR (after tax) | 17.9% | 19.1% | — |
| Project IRR (after tax) | 10.0% | 10.8% | — |
| Equity payback | 9.0 years | 8.5 years | — |
| Average DSCR | >1.25x | >1.30x | — |
| Total CapEx | €36.17M | €48.94M | €85.11M |
| Strategic role | Industrial demand security | Hydro-solar grid integration | — |
Figuil Solar employs the same technology platform as Lagdo Solar, reflecting a deliberate programme-level decision to achieve economies of scale in procurement and harmonise operations and maintenance across both sites. The specifications below are common to the full Northern Cameroon Solar Programme unless noted otherwise.
Figuil Solar's financial model is constructed on a 25-year operating horizon with 0.4% annual module degradation and a 3-year debt repayment grace period. The 17.9% after-tax equity IRR, while modestly lower than Lagdo's 19.1%, reflects the slightly smaller installed capacity base against an equally-sized BESS investment of €7.85M — storage costs at Figuil represent a higher proportion of total CapEx, as the battery system is specified at the same capacity for grid stabilisation purposes regardless of plant size.
Sensitivity note: A 10% increase in CapEx reduces equity IRR by approximately 1.8%, maintaining returns above 16% for Figuil. A 5% reduction in energy production impacts equity IRR by approximately 2.1%. Satellite-validated irradiance data and on-site geotechnical studies are used to anchor the P50 production estimate.
Figuil Solar operates under the same contractual and risk-mitigation architecture as Lagdo Solar, structured as a PPP under BOOT concession. The layers of payment security, construction protection, and operational resilience described below are consistent across the full Northern Cameroon Solar Programme.
Santi Capital facilitates introductions to Rubis Group Limited for qualified institutional investors interested in the Northern Cameroon Solar Programme.
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