A partnership was recently signed between the Filatex group based in Tananarive, Madagascar, and Hyvity, a hydropower producer based in Paris, France. The two partners want to develop several hydroelectric projects, the first of which are expected to enter the commercial exploitation phase.
Two renewable energy producers are joining forces to increase Madagascar’s installed electricity capacity. They are the Filatex Group based in Tananarive, Madagascar, and Hyvity, a company based in Paris, France. The two partners are launching the ENHY joint venture and plan to develop several hydroelectric projects in collaboration with the relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Energy and Hydrocarbons (MEH) and Jiro sy rano malagasy (JIRAMA), the company that provides the public electricity service in Madagascar.
Hyvity and Filatex plan to build at least two hydroelectric facilities per year. Two projects are already under consideration in the Antsirabe region, in the centre of the country, for a total capacity of 20 MW by 2026, says Hyvity. According to Hyvity, the partnership with Filatex is part of the Plan Emergence Madagascar, which is supported by the government of this East African country and aims to increase the share of hydroelectricity to 75% of Madagascar’s electricity mix.
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Currently, the island has an installed capacity of 969 MW, of which only 18% of this electricity is produced by hydroelectric power stations, according to Power Africa. Yet the country’s hydroelectric potential is estimated at 7,800 MW by the Economic Development Agency of Madagascar (EDBM).
To date, only 2% of this potential has been exploited. More than 800 hydroelectric sites with high untapped potential have been identified, ranging from 10 kW to 600 MW located throughout the country. Exploiting this potential would enable Madagascar to achieve its development objectives by reducing load shedding and speeding up the supply of electricity. Madagascar is one of the least electrified countries on the African continent with a rate of 33.7%, behind Somalia (49.7%) according to the World Bank’s 2020 report.
Jean Marie Takouleu
