# BECO's 8-MWp Mogadishu Solar Park: What the 2020 Report Said

> Somaliland Sun reported on 2020-06-12 that BECO had recently commissioned an 8-MWp solar park in Mogadishu. No date, builder…

- By: Editorial Team, Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com/about)
- Published: 30 September 2026
- Format: News story (reported from one named public source)
- Publication: Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com)
- Subject: Infrastructure and Services
- Tags: utilities, electrical-work
- Web version: https://somaliconstructionreview.com/blog/beco-8-mwp-mogadishu-solar-park-2020-report

## Key points

- On 12 June 2020, Somaliland Sun reported that BECO had recently commissioned an 8-MWp solar park in Mogadishu, citing several outlets including Reuters.
- Reuters, as relayed by Somaliland Sun, said the plant supplies four hours of power a day to 300,000 BECO customers, with fossil-fuel generators covering the rest.
- BECO expected to add more solar power to reach 100 MW by 2022 with USD 40 million of investment, a stated company target with no verified outcome.
- The report gives no commissioning date, no contractor, developer or financier, and no project or contract value.

On 12 June 2020, Somaliland Sun reported that Somali power utility BECO had recently commissioned an 8-MWp solar park in Mogadishu. The same report said the commissioning was carried by several media outlets including Reuters. It gave no date beyond "recently".

That is the full extent of what the report establishes about the switch-on itself. It does not name the contractor, the developer, the financier or the owner of the park, and it does not state a project value or contract value.

## What the plant does, per Reuters

According to Reuters, as relayed by Somaliland Sun, the plant supplies power for four hours per day to 300,000 BECO customers, with fossil-fuel generators filling in to meet the remaining daily needs. The solar park is not described as powering all of BECO's demand.

BECO's stated motive, Somaliland Sun reported, was to reduce the cost of producing electricity from diesel generators, which it described as largely the source of much of the country's power. No cost or savings figure was given, so no reduction can be quantified.

BECO chief engineer Mohamud Farah told Reuters, as relayed by Somaliland Sun, that the utility would still need to keep its fossil-fuel generators unless it invests in battery storage. The report does not indicate whether any storage was installed.

Reuters, again as relayed, reported that Somalia has had no national electricity grid service since the start of the civil war in 1991, and that BECO's service area covers Mogadishu, Kismayu, Barawe, Marka, Balad, Jowhar, Afgooye and Elasha.

## Targets and figures that are not outcomes

Somaliland Sun reported that BECO expected to add more solar power to reach 100 MW by 2022 with an investment of USD 40 million. This is a 2020 company target, not built capacity, committed investment or an achieved outcome. The report provides no evidence of whether the target was met or the money was spent.

Mogadishu relies on 35 MW of total installed capacity but needs 200 MW, according to Somaliland Sun. The report does not state the basis for either figure, so neither should be read as actual generation or verified peak demand.

USAID-collected information, as relayed by Somaliland Sun, states that only 15% of Somalia's population has access to electricity, with 2.4 million Somali households living without power. The report gives no survey year or methodology, so the figures cannot be treated as current.

## What remains open

The report's date is 2020-06-12 and its only time reference for the commissioning is "recently". It does not establish whether the 100 MW by 2022 target was met, whether the USD 40 million was invested, whether battery storage was added, or what the plant's current status is.

> **Note:** The primary Reuters report is not among the available documents. The details above rest on Somaliland Sun's relay of it.

## Questions

### Where is BECO's 8-MWp solar park located?

Somaliland Sun reported on 2020-06-12 that the park is in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital.

### How much of BECO's demand does the solar park supply?

Reuters, as relayed by Somaliland Sun, reported that the plant supplies power for four hours per day to 300,000 BECO customers, with fossil-fuel generators covering the remaining daily needs.

### Did BECO reach its 100 MW by 2022 target?

The available evidence does not establish that. The figure was reported by Somaliland Sun as a 2020 company expectation, not an outcome, and no subsequent confirmation is present.

## Sources

- [Somali power co BECO switches on 8-MWp solar park](https://somalilandsun.com/somali-power-co-beco-switches-on-8-mwp-solar-park/) — Somaliland Sun, 2020-06-12