# Bosaso 3.5 MW solar plant built, connection expected early 2026

> African Development Bank appraisal, November 2025: Bosaso's 3.5 MW solar PV plant is complete but not yet connected, connection expected by early 2026.

- By: Editorial Team, Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com/about)
- Published: 20 September 2026
- Format: Project story (reported from one named public source)
- Publication: Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com)
- Subject: Infrastructure and Services
- Place: Bosaso, Puntland
- Tags: puntland, bosaso, solar, electricity, ongoing-projects
- Web version: https://somaliconstructionreview.com/blog/bosasos-3-5-mw-solar-plant-built-but-unconnected

## Key points

- The African Development Bank's November 2025 appraisal records a 3.5 MW solar PV plant in western Bosaso as completed but not yet connected to the network.
- The same appraisal expects the plant to be connected by the beginning of 2026, and a PEPCO 4.5 MW medium speed diesel plant under repair to enter commercial operation by end of 2025.
- The appraisal is dated November 2025 and precedes a board presentation planned for 5 December 2025, so it shows an intended sequence, not a completed connection.

The African Development Bank, in a project appraisal report dated November 2025 for the Rehabilitation and Expansion of Bosaso Power Grid and Strengthening of Energy Sector Institutions (ESPSEI), states that a 3.5 MW solar PV plant in the western part of Bosaso is completed but yet to be connected to the network, with connection expected by the beginning of 2026.

## What the source records

Paragraph 9 of the [African Development Bank](https://www.afdb.org/sites/default/files/documents/projects-and-operations/somalia_rehabilitation_and_expansion_of_bosaso_power_grid_and_strengthning_of_energy_sector_institutions_espsei.pdf) appraisal gives Bosaso installed generation at 24.18 MW against 14.59 MW available, made up of 23.18 MW of diesel and 1 MW of solar PV without battery storage, owned and operated by Puntland Electric Power Company (PEPCO). PEPCO holds about 75 percent of capacity, with other suppliers holding the rest. A PEPCO 4.5 MW medium speed diesel plant is under repair and expected to enter commercial operation by the end of 2025.

## What it means on site

A generator that is built and not connected delivers nothing to a customer, so the value sits in the switchgear, step-up transformer, protection settings and the point of interconnection. The appraisal states the connection is expected by the beginning of 2026, which points to commissioning and network energisation as the remaining step. For a client sizing a connection or a backup set, the plant's arrival may change daytime supply, but the source does not give the plant's operating profile, so ask the utility what it expects to dispatch before assuming any hour of the day is covered. General practice for a new PV plant is a witnessed commissioning test and a signed connection agreement before energisation; confirm both against the project's specification and engineer.

## What the source does not establish

The appraisal is dated November 2025 and was prepared ahead of a board presentation planned for 5 December 2025, so it records an intended sequence rather than an achieved one. It does not give a connection date after the beginning of 2026, the plant's output, its tariff, or who owns and operates it. It does not say whether the plant is utility-owned, and it does not state the present state of the network or of the plant. A commissioning certificate, an energisation notice, or a current utility statement would confirm whether the connection has happened.

## What to do next

Ask PEPCO, through the Puntland Ministry of Energy, Minerals and Water, for the plant's commissioning and interconnection status in writing, including the expected energisation date. Ask the utility for the connection agreement and the point of interconnection.

> **Note:** The 13 km rehabilitation and 51 km of new MV lines described in the same appraisal are design targets, not works done.

## Questions

### Is the Bosaso solar plant producing power now?

The African Development Bank appraisal dated November 2025 records it as completed but not yet connected to the network. It does not state the plant's present status, so ask PEPCO through the Puntland Ministry of Energy, Minerals and Water for the current interconnection status.

### Does the plant have battery storage?

The appraisal lists 1 MW of existing solar PV without battery energy storage. It does not state whether the 3.5 MW plant includes batteries, so ask the utility or the implementing ministry.

## Sources

- [Bosaso power grid rehabilitation and expansion (ESPSEI)](https://www.afdb.org/sites/default/files/documents/projects-and-operations/somalia_rehabilitation_and_expansion_of_bosaso_power_grid_and_strengthning_of_energy_sector_institutions_espsei.pdf) — African Development Bank, November 2025 (Funder appraisal report; project information sheet, paragraph 9 and paragraph 23.2.1.)