Solar Power

Mozambique inaugurates its largest solar PV plant yet

President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi inaugurated the Metoro solar farm on April 1st, 2022. Picture: Efacec.

By

Last week, President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi of Mozambique inaugurated the 41 MWp Metoro solar PV plant, built in the northern Cabo Delgado province.

The $56m facility is owned by French IPP Neoen (75%) and state utility EDM (25%) and was built by Portuguese contractor Efacec. It was financed by a $40m debt package provided by the French Development Agency and its subsidiary Proparco.

It is Mozambique’s largest solar plant and notably follows the inauguration of Scatec Solar’s 40 MW Mocuba solar plant in the Zambézia Province in 2019.

Central Solar Metoro’s 121,500 PV modules are able to generate up to 69 GWh a year for the Mozambican grid, ensuring the consumption of some 140,000 people.

Read more

Mozambique’s Balama graphite mine to rely on new hybrid solar/thermal power system

Solarcentury Africa, part of the BB Energy Group, has just reached financial close on a 11.25 MWp solar PV plant and 8.5 MW/MWh battery energy storage system for Mozambique’s Balama graphite mine. The project is financed by CrossBoundary Energy and is expected to start operating at the end of Q1 2023. The Balama mine is operated by Syrah Resources of Australia and currently relies on a 15.4 MW diesel driven power station. The new solar and battery facilities will be integrated to the existing thermal power generation plant and managed by a hybrid power control system, delivered under a 10-year build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) arrangement. The arrangement comprises an operating lease and an operating and maintenance contract. “The hybrid power system will supply approximately 35% of the Mine’s power needs, resulting in a c. 35% reduction of diesel consumption,” Syrah Resources and BB Energy said in a statement. At the end of the 10-year contract, ownership of the project company will be transferred from CrossBoundary Energy to Syrah Resources.

EPC contract signed for Ethiopia’s first IPP

The EPC contract for the Phase 1 (50 MW) of the Tulu Moye Geothermal Project in Oromia, Ethiopia, was signed yesterday with the consortium of Mitsubishi Corporation and SEPCOIII Electric Power construction Co. Construction is expected to start in September this year for a commissioning by December 2024. The project is led by Tulu Moye Geothermal Operations Plc (TMGO), a joint-venture between Meridiam (51%) and Reykjavik Geothermal (49%). The facility will be Ethiopia’s first Independent Power Producer (IPP) project, and a pathfinder for future geothermal developments in the country. It is expected to be set up on one of the best geothermal fields in the world, with an estimated capacity of over 1 GW. Drilling for phase 1 started in March 2020 but was suspended for several months due to travel restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Drilling activities were able to resume only in mid-June 2020 and the first well, GA-1, was completed in Q1 of 2021. GA-2 and GA-3 were eventually drilled in 2021, followed by GB-1 were drilling is still ongoing. Under a contract signed in 2019, the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is the one in charge of drilling 10 geothermal wells and 2 injection wells to accomplish the first phase of 50MW within the next two years. Full details on the Tulu Moye Geothermal Project are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.