Abreu Advogados acted pro bono for TESE in Guinea-Bissau’s first solar power plant

Abreu Advogados acted pro bono for TESE in a project named “Ianda Guiné! Ação Lus ku Iagu”, financed by the European Union and the World Bank, to develop solar power generation and promote greater access to electricity in Guinea-Bissau on the island of Bolama in the Bijagós’ archipelago, where there was no access to the grid.

Only 33% of Guinea-Bissau’s population has access to electricity, with significant disparities between Bissau (58%) and other regions (<5%). The scalable off-grid solution developed can be applied across Africa, particularly in regions with similar regulatory challenges. Successfully implemented by the local government and a multilateral finance institution, it can support diverse energy production projects.

The firm was the lead counsel for this project, advising TESE pro bono – TESE is a Portuguese NGO working in five areas: energy, water, waste management, employment and training. Senior partners Manuel Santos Vítor (head of M&A and Guinea-Bissau Desk teams) and Bruno Azevedo Rodrigues (head of Projects & Structured Finance team) took the lead of the project with the full endorsement from Abreu’s Pro Bono Committee.

The project end-beneficiaries will be the electricity consumers of the island (nearly 10,000 people). This includes residential, commercial, and industrial consumers, and the governmental entities that will benefit from an increased availability and reliability of electricity supplied by the new power plant.

The impact of the project is supported by the Government’s ambition to increase reliable electricity access and the deployment of renewable energy while aligning to increase private capital mobilisation. The project may also pave the way for the development of a local industry, ideally leading to the creation of new jobs on a permanent basis.