The Mozambican authorities recently took part in the inauguration of the Cuamba photovoltaic solar power plant. Equipped with a battery storage system, the facility is the result of a public-private partnership (PPP) between the State of Mozambique and the British company Globeleq.
The President of the Republic of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, visited the province of Niassa a few days ago to inaugurate the Cuamba photovoltaic solar power plant. Globeleq has successfully completed the construction of its solar farm in the town of Tetereane. The 19 MWp solar farm is equipped with a 7 MWh storage system.
According to Globeleq, the power plant is capable of supplying electricity to 21,800 households in Mozambique, while avoiding the emission of 172,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2). The plant is being commissioned in a highly agricultural region. Cuamba produces cotton, sesame, tobacco and above all mapira, a sorghum-type cereal widely consumed in Mozambique.
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In his speech at the inauguration ceremony for the Cuamba photovoltaic solar power plant, President Filipe Nyusi “advised the population to increase the productive use of energy by focusing on production and income generation. I have also asked that the agro-industrial potential of Cuamba be promoted as the centre of the economy of the province of Niassa, exploiting production throughout its territorial extension”.
The solar park is the result of a partnership between independent power producer (IPP) Globeleq, Source Energia, an energy producer in Portuguese-speaking Africa, and Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), Mozambique’s national electricity company.
Construction of the Cuamba photovoltaic solar power plant and its storage system required an investment of 36 million dollars. The project partners raised the necessary financing from the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF, $19 million) of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). For its part, Viability Gap Funding (VGF), the PIDG’s subsidy mechanism, provided $7 million to enable the introduction of an “affordable” electricity purchase tariff.
Jean Marie Takouleu
