Independent power producer (IPP) Globeleq has brought a 19MWp solar PV, 2MW/7MWh energy storage plant in Mozambique into commercial operation.
The Cuamba Solar plant is Globeleq’s first greenfield project in Mozambique, its first combined solar and storage facility in its operational portfolio, and the first in the country, and went into operation last month, it said today (1 November).
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The offtaker is Mozambique’s main utility Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) through a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) while Source Energia, another developer and IPP, also worked on the project with Globeleq.
The power plant has been described as a ‘US$36 million project’. World Bank and donor country-funded finance institution Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) provided US$19 million in debt funding while UK development finance institution British International Investment provided a US$1 million grant.
Financial close was completed in December 2021, reported by Energy-Storage.news at the time. The energy storage system was provided by E22, part of the Spanish group Gransolar, while another Spanish company TSK provided engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services.
The project is part of Mozambique’s plan to deploy 200MW of renewable energy over a five-year period, and is the third large-scale solar plant in Mozambique.
Filipe Nyusi, president of Mozambique, said at an inauguration ceremony: “The Cuamba solar and storage plant will provide greater energy security and stability in this region of Mozambique and marks a turning point for the Cuamba district. Globeleq, Source Energia and EDM have all invested in this project – a public-private partnership that demonstrates the confidence of international investors in Mozambique.”
Mike Scholey, Globeleq’s CEO remarked: “We are extremely excited to now have Cuamba Solar officially delivering clean power to the Mozambican grid via EDM and supporting both the local economy and the Government’s efforts to build more renewable power. We continue to build our business in Mozambique through this project, our purchase of the Mocuba solar PV plant and our Temane gas-to-power project, currently in construction.”
Though the project is the first large-scale solar-plus-storage project in Mozambique, a larger, 300MW project recently secured a land agreement for a 950 hectare area a few months after its developer Ncondezi Energy launched a feasibility study into it.