Page 12 - AfrElec Week 22 2022

AfrElec RENEWABLES AfrElec

Mozambique to add 200 MW

more green power by 2027

MOZAMBIQUE MOZAMBIQUE’S publicly owned electricity Utchavo said projects already carried out
company is investing $40mn in building new under PROLER include the country’s first solar
solar and wind power facilities to produce 200 plant, in Mocuba city, in the central province of
MW over the next five years, according to a sen- Zambezia, with a capacity of 40 MW, and the
ior official from state-owned energy company Metoro solar plant in Cabo Delgado Province,
Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM). completed this year with a capacity of 41 MW.
Olga Utchavo, EDM’s director of renewable “We have the challenge of building the first
energies, said on the margins of an event on solar plant using energy storage in the city of
storage and grid integration of renewables in Cuamba, in Niassa, with a capacity of 15 MW.
the country that the entity will install new solar We have the plants of Dondo, in Sofala, and
and wind power plants through the Renewa- Lichinga, in Niassa, which are the next to be
ble Energy Auction Programme (PROLER), in installed, through PROLER. In the town of
order to accelerate access to energy for all. Namaacha, in Maputo, a wind power plant is
“The company will, in the next five years, being planned, which will soon move to finan-
add to its capacity a further 600 MW of energy, cial closure and then to construction,” she said.
including 200 MW from renewable sources, to A representative of the European Union,
accelerate the process of providing energy to the Verlee Smet, suggested the creation of an energy
entire population of the country,” she said, the resource centre to strengthen the national dis-
national news agency AIM reported on May 26. tribution network and ensure the achievement
The grid expansion, Utchavo added, will be of universal coverage by the end of 2030. She
done in parallel with renewable projects to ena- pledged the EU’s support to develop the centre.
ble the supply of clean and sustainable energy. “This centre will be key to the integration of
At 187 GW, Mozambique has the largest renewable energy by providing greater control
power generation potential in Southern Africa of the balance between supply and demand to
from untapped coal, hydro, gas, wind and solar ensure the stability of the network,” she said, as
resources, according to Power Africa, a US gov- quoted by AIM.
ernment agency that invests in boosting access to A representative of the German Embassy,
electricity on the continent. Ingmar Kreisl, told the news agency that
Hydropower currently accounts for about €100mn ($107mn) has already been invested in
81% of installed capacity in Mozambique. renewable projects in the country, in collabora-
However, natural gas and renewable energy tion with the private sector. “At the moment, all
sources occupy a growing share of the energy our projects are estimated at €180mn. We have
mix. Despite the great potential, only 29% of already intervened in the modernisation of the
the population has access to electricity due to hydroelectric plants of Mavuzi and Chicamba,
limited transmission and distribution networks in the province of Manica and we are promoting
and unfavourable market conditions for new private sector initiatives,” he said.™
generation.

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