UK-based renewable energy group Octopus Energy has announced that it has entered a partnership to develop the first ever wind farm in the West African country of Sierra Leone. Its partner in the project is Sherbro Alliance Partners, which is a development company owned by famed British actor Idris Elba and Siaka Stevens (a grandson of a former President of Sierra Leone).

Currently, only 28% of Sierra Leoneans are estimated to have access to electricity. The country is seeking to increase this to 85% by 2030, by rolling out renewable energy projects. The Octopus/Sherbro wind farm will be built next year and will form part of the Sherbro Island City project. The wind farm will initially be composed of five wind turbines, plus solar panels and battery storage backup, and will generate green electricity for local communities on Sherbro Island.

“This is a momentous day for Octopus as we kick off our first renewables project in Africa,” highlighted Octopus Energy Generation CEO Zoisa North-Bond. “We are incredibly excited to be working with Idris, Siaka and their team who are real visionaries creating a vibrant and sustainable future in Sherbro Island in Sierra Leone. Green energy represents a monumental opportunity across the African continent. Through projects like this, we can get cheap, green electricity to even more people and leverage renewables data to unleash the power of renewables and encourage others to follow suit.”

“Sherbro Island City is being founded on sustainable principles, and will be fuelled by clean energy sources,” highlighted Sherbro Alliance Partners co-founder Stevens. “Over the last few years, our mission has been to transform Sherbro and ignite a new way of building African cities; Africa needs new cities. We are focusing on making a significant impact across the region and beyond with partners in the UK, Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East. Our collaboration with Octopus is the first of many partnerships which will allow us to achieve this world-class vision.”

Sherbro Island has been designated a semi-autonomous special economic zone. This allows the private sector to take the lead in the development of the island. Sherbro Alliance Partners seeks to transform the island into a vibrant regional economic hub and a dynamic eco-city. The intent is to replicate transformations already achieved in Dubai, Singapore and elsewhere.

Octopus has so far developed green energy projects worth $7.5-billion across 15 countries in Europe, Asia and Australia.