Mocuba: The birth of a large scale solar power plant in Mozambique

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Mocuba: The birth of a large scale solar power plant in Mozambique

12:57 CAT | 21 Feb 2018

Notícias / Mocuba is a city and seat of Mocuba District of Zambezia Province

A solar power plant capable of generating 40 megwatts of electricity will start construction next March in the district of Mocuba, Zambézia province, in a public-private investment partnership worth US$80 million.

The infrastructure will be linked to a network to be developed in a partnership between Scatec Solar, Norfund and Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), according to Chairman of EDM’s Board of Directors Mateus Magala, speaking during the Mozambique-Norway ‘Energy Week’ business forum.

The construction of the venture is covered by an agreement signed last year when Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende visited Mozambique. This is the first large-scale solar energy project in Mozambique, and represents an important step in achieving the national goal of increasing renewable energy generation.

Magala said the Mocuba solar plant was very important because it would define a new attitude in the country to the production of solar energy in large quantities.

“This project will start next March and will last 10 months,” he said.

According to the EDM chairman, another structural project in perspective is the Temane power station, which will generate 400MW of electricity from natural gas. Associated with this initiative is the construction of a transmission line linking Temane, in Inhambane, and Maputo, a distance of approximately 700 kilometres.

“At the moment, we are at a very advanced stage and we hope that by the end of the year we will be able to close the financial aspect and start implementing the project next year, so that by 2021 we will be supplying energy to the grid,” Magala said.

Magala said that these were among a range of structural and transformational projects his company was carrying out. The conclusion of the Maputo Power Plant, the largest of all, is imminent, and it should start operating in August.

Source: Notícias