The government of this Central African nation is putting into service two new solar photovoltaic power facilities in the western city of Benguela as part of the “Energy Angola 2025” program. The plants, which have a combined capacity of 284 MWp, are consistent with the Angolan government’s energy agenda, which calls for investments in clean energy to diversify the country’s electrical mix.
Angola’s access to electricity is just 43%, despite having an installed capacity of 6,400 MW, according to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). At least 1.8 million people will now be connected to the national power grid thanks to two new solar photovoltaic facilities with a combined capacity of 284 MWp in the Benguela province. The installations were completed by the Portuguese company MCA, named after their creator Manuel Couto Alves.
The first power plant is situated in the Catumbela municipality of Biópio. The installation of the metal piles that support 509,040 solar panels was made possible by the construction work on this 188 MWp project, which cost $300 million. A $152 million second photovoltaic solar power facility is going into operation with 261,360 solar panels to produce 96 MWp of electricity in Baía Farta. The municipality is located 569 km from the capital Luanda.
In addition to these two new power plants, other solar projects underway in the provinces of Huambo, Bié, Lunda, Lunda-Sul and Moxico, will inject a total of 370 MWp into Angola’s national electricity grid by 2023. These initiatives, launched in 2021 at a total cost of US$417 million, are financed to the tune of US$250 million by the World Bank through its subsidiary, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (BIRD), and the French Development Agency (AFD).
