- The Angolan government has inaugurated the largest off-grid photovoltaic plant in sub-Saharan Africa, delivering round-the-clock electricity for the first time to an isolated community of more than 130,000 people.
The facility is located in Cazombo, capital of the newly created province of Moxico Leste. Built by Portuguese firm MCA, the site incorporates advanced technologies, including a battery-storage system and Blackstart capability, allowing the plant to restart automatically in the event of a blackout.
Speaking during a site visit, Elisabete Alves, Chief Operating Officer of the MCA Group, said the system could help prevent nationwide blackouts if integrated into the national grid in future. She added that the plant is Angola’s “first fully renewable power station”.
Cazombo is one of 60 communities included in the government’s electrification programme, designed to bring power to more than 200,000 households and improve the lives of around one million people.
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According to Energy and Water Minister João Baptista Borges, the national initiative represents an investment of more than US$1 billion (around €862 million). He noted that the new solar park will not only supply uninterrupted electricity to roughly 136,000 residents, but will also reduce annual fuel consumption by nearly 10 million litres, a vital saving in a region where fuel is expensive and difficult to transport.
“This is a historic milestone for the province of Moxico Leste and for Angola,” the minister said. “It is much more than solar panels: it signifies progress, inclusion and energy independence.”
In Cazombo itself, 12,000 of the planned 16,000 home connections have already been installed, with 3,000 currently operational. The community will be powered by a 25-megawatt (MW) plant supported by 75 MW of battery storage, drawing energy from 40,320 solar panels.
The wider solar programme includes works across the provinces of Bié, Malanje, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Moxico and Moxico Leste. In total, the initiative will deliver 256 megawatts-peak (MWp) of installed capacity and 595 megawatt-hours (MWh) of storage.
Crispiniano dos Santos, governor of Moxico Leste, said the project had already brought visible improvements to residents’ lives. He believes the new power infrastructure will stimulate agricultural and industrial growth, attract private investment and create new jobs across the sparsely populated province, home to around 411,000 people. Moxico Leste covers 72,000 square kilometres, roughly equivalent to mainland Portugal minus the Algarve, and borders Zambia to the east.
MCA is also developing a project in Cazombo to collect and treat water from the Zambezi River. The scheme, part of a Ministry of Energy and Water programme spanning 49 locations in five provinces, is expected to be completed by July 2027 and represents an investment of €870 million.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
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