- Globeleq yesterday announced financial close on the 19 MW Cuamba solar project, which will feature a 2 MW/7 MWh battery system.
- This is Mozambique’s first grid scale solar-plus-storage project.
- The Spanish company Grupo TSK has been appointed as the project EPC contractor.
Globeleq, an independent power producer backed by U.K. and Norwegian public money, and its project partners, Source Energia, a Lusophone Africa energy developer and Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), the Mozambican national power utility, have reached financial close on the 19MWp (15MWac) Cuamba Solar PV plant with a 2MW (7MWh) energy storage system.
The US$36 million project located in the Cuamba district, Niassa province (about 550 km west of the coastal town of Nacala) will supply electricity through a 25-year power purchase agreement with EDM. The project is the first IPP in Mozambique to integrate a utility scale energy storage system and includes an upgrade to the existing Cuamba substation.
Once operational, the Cuamba Solar plant will supply enough power for 21,800 consumers, and over the life of the project is expected to avoid the equivalent of more than 172,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. First power is expected to flow in the second half of 2022.
The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (“EAIF”), a member of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (“PIDG”) provided US$19 million in debt funding, with PIDG’s Viability Gap Funding (VGF) grant facility providing US$7million to enable an affordable tariff, fund essential grid upgrades and an energy storage system for EDM. CDC Plus, the technical assistance facility of CDC Group, has contributed a US$1million grant towards the battery energy storage system.
EDM’s Chairman, Marcelino Gildo Alberto said: “This project is a demonstration of EDM’s commitment to provide sustainable solutions to speed up energy access to Mozambicans. In compliance with the Government’s Five-Year Plan to introduce 200MW of renewable energy, EDM is at the forefront of the energy transition in line with the Paris Agreement.”
The project will require approximately 100 workers during construction, many of whom will be hired from the local community. The Spanish company Grupo TSK has been appointed as the project EPC contractor and will immediately commence mobilisation of its construction team. E22, part of the Spanish Gransolar Group, will supply the complete battery energy storage system. Globeleq will oversee the construction and operations of the power plant, supported by Source Energia.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
Source: Globelec
