Page 11 - AfrElec Week 39 2022

AfrElec RENEWABLES AfrElec

Renewable Energy Services

Africa aims for 1 GW of solar

AFRICA RENEWABLE Energy Services Africa (RESA) about $40m, and RESA needs to raise about 70%
targets to supply a cumulative one gigawatt of of that, Chikakuda told The Africa Report.
solar power in southern Africa within the next Depending on the performance of the first
decade or sooner, a senior company official has phase, the rollout of the remaining 70MW could
said. be split into two phases.
The UK-incorporated company is building he African Development Bank (AfDB) says
Mozambique’s most advanced solar project, 40% of Mozambique’s population had energy
Chimuara, which is set to generate 100MW. It access in 2021, 36% on grid and 4% off.
is working in partnership with Solarcentury The government is targeting universal energy
Africa, a unit of BB Energy as well as a Mozam- access in the country by 2030, which will need
bican investment firm, Checunda Investmentos, at least 2,300 MW of new installed capacity and
on the project. about 5mn new connections.
In neighbouring Malawi, RESA, and in part- Hydropower accounts for 79% of output,
nership with Solarcentury Africa too, is planning while solar accounts for 1%. Mozambique has
to build the 50MW Nkhoma Deka solar project, been seeking to increase that through a series of
which will include a battery storage system. tenders for solar projects which, Chikakuda said
RESA chief executive officer Stan Chikakuda are “likely to be the norm for the future” in the
told The Africa Report the company plans to fur- nation.
ther expand across the region where electricity Mozambique’s government has been working
shortage is common and solar energy is a minor to “create the right environment” for renewable
contributor. power, he said with most duties on imported
It is “seriously looking” at entering regional solar equipment removed. The costal location
economic powerhouse, South Africa and is open of the country allows different options to import
to projects across the region, he added. equipment, he noted, adding that the local road
Electricity to be produced from Chimuara network is strong.
will be fed into the national utility Electricidade Given Mozambique’s size, solutions need to
de Moçambique’s (EDM) grid from an existing be implemented off as well as on-grid. “Relying
substation. on the grid alone won’t work in the short term,”
Chikakuda hopes to conclude a power pur- Chikakuda told The Africa Report.
chase agreement (PPA) with EDM around the On Malawi, he expressed the hope that RESA
end of the year. The project is being rolled out will secure ministerial approval to negotiate a
in phases, the first of which will have a capacity PPA around the end of this year, after which the
of 30MW. The cost of first-phase construction is project would take about 18 months to build.™

Week 39 29•September•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P11