The Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy said Thursday that the focus on renewable energy was fundamental for the expansion of access to electricity and the country’s commitment to using clean energy sources.
“We pay particular attention to renewable sources because they allow us to have power generation plants in various geographical points dispersed throughout the country, thus contributing to create alternatives that improve the security and quality of supply as well as the viability of our climate agenda,” Max Tonela said.
The governor was speaking at the event that marked the laying of the first stone for the construction of the Cuamba Solar Power Plant, in Niassa province, northern part of the country.
The government will continue the investments in renewable energy generation infrastructures in more parts of the country aiming at contributing more and more to the development of our country.
“We intend to continue to bet on this mixed model, involving public-private partnerships, in order to promote the development of infrastructures in a more efficient way, faster and without recourse to public funding or debt to the State,” he said.
With the project construction of which began this Thursday, Niassa province now has its own source of power generation, and construction of two more power plants is also planned in this part of the country, he added.
Tonela said that other power plants powered by renewable sources would be set up in the provinces of Tete and Sofala, in the centre of the country, and Inhambane, in the south.
In her turn, the United Kingdom’s high commissioner in Mozambique, Nnene Iwuji, whose country is one of the funders of the project, noted the British commitment to innovation in the renewable energy sector as an area of interest in cooperation with Mozambique.
“I hope that this project can convey the position of the United Kingdom in innovation and renewable energy supply and the role that British companies and institutions can play in achieving clean growth in Mozambique,” said Nnene Iwuji.
The UK, he continued, remains a strategic partner for Mozambique to develop its clean energy potential, aiming for a sustainable and prosperous environment for future generations.
The Cuamba solar plant in the northern part of the country, will have a capacity of 15 megawatts, is budgeted at US$32 million and will channel the electricity produced to the national grid.
The project is the result of funding from the Emerging Africa Infrastructure fund, an international financial institution.
The power plant will be the third “large-scale” projected in the country (i.e. with capacity to produce a minimum of 15 megawatts from solar sources), following the entry into operation of an infrastructure that generates 40 megawatts in Mocuba, in Zambézia province, in the central region, and the laying of the first stone in the district of Metoro, in Cabo Delgado province, in the north of the country, in August 2020.
Work on the Cuamba solar plant will last 12 months and will generate 100 jobs during construction and ten in the operation phase.
The structure will be operated by Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) and international companies Globeleq and Source Energy.
