- Infrastructure development company, eleQtra, recently announced the signature of a grant from the United States Trade and Development Agency to accelerate the development of a 120MW wind power project in Mozambique.
- The grant will provide crucial funding to accelerate Mozambique’s first wind project.
- The Namaacha Wind project will be located close to the country’s capital, Maputo.
- The project is expected to be commissioned in about 3 years.
When it comes on stream, the Namaacha wind project is expected to be the first IPP wind project operational in the Mozambique. Located in an area that is close to the capital city of Maputo and in an area of excellent wind resources, the project is expected to reinforce the renewable power production capabilities of Mozambique and will play an important part in meeting Mozambique’s growing electricity demand.
eleQtra has selected Mozambique as a priority country to increase its activities in the clean energy sector. With an office established in Maputo, the company plans to push ahead with the development of its portfolio of energy projects. The Namaacha Wind Project is an important part of this initiative. The project will generate up to 120MW of energy in the Namaacha District of Southern Mozambique (the “Project”). eleQtra has signed an MOU with the Fund for Energy (FUNAE) in the Ministry of Energy granting eleQtra development rights for the Project. The Project will be developed with a Phase 1 of 60MW, to be followed by another phase of 60MW as demand evolves.
Lauren Thomas, head of the eleQtra office in Maputo said “We are extremely proud that eleQtra’s initiative to develop a wind farm in Namaacha will receive this critical early-stage funding from the US Government. We hope that this support will lead to the strengthening of the Mozambican power supply with the first wind IPP in the country and we look forward to working with USTDA to complete these fundamental feasibility studies.”
The private infrastructure development company, operating in sub-Saharan African countries, will develop a wind farm with a capacity of 120 MW. The company says the project will be carried out in two phases. The first wind farm will have a capacity of 60 MW; the second will add a further 60 MW.
Commissioning in 2023
The Namaacha wind project is expected to be commissioned in about 3 years. The company EleQtra plans to invest nearly $280 million (almost 20 billion Mozambican meticals) for its implementation. The electricity generated by the wind farm will be sold to the state-owned company Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) signed with EleQtra. The director of the wind project, Pedro Coutinho, explains that the wind farm will be connected to the substation in Boane, near the capital Maputo.
The development of the Namaacha wind project was approved in 2018, following an agreement signed between the Mozambican Energy Fund (Funae) and EleQtra. In the same year, the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) awarded a grant to EleQtra to carry out feasibility studies for this 120 MW wind project. The studies were carried out by the Australian consulting firm Worley Parsons.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
