Mozambique and South Africa will soon sign an energy agreement. The partnership aims to allow the South African government to use the potential of natural gas produced in the country to boost its energy transition.
The information was revealed by the South African Minister of Energy and Electricity, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, who emphasised that natural gas provides flexible capacity to allow for the rapid expansion of renewable energies on the continent, especially in the southern region.
‘Mozambique represents one of the most lucrative gas markets in Africa, so we believe that this agreement will help us respond to the existing deficit and implement our clean energy project, guaranteeing energy security for many,’ he said.
South Africa is the main buyer of the installed capacity at the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Plant in the centre of Mozambique, under a power purchase agreement that runs until 2029.
Last year, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Carlos Zacarias, said that Mozambique would supply another 100 megawatts of energy to the neighbouring country, stressing that some technical and commercial issues were being finalised.
Official figures indicate that Mozambique has significant energy potential, estimated at 18 Gigawatts (GW) of hydroelectric sources, 185 Tcf of natural gas, 25 billion tonnes of coal reserves, 23,000 GW of solar energy and 5.6 GW of wind energy.
The country has a new Energy Transition Strategy (ETS), valued at 80 billion dollars, and green energy projects with a capacity of 100MWp are underway, including Mphanda Nkuwa, Boroma and Lupata, as well as the construction of small-scale floating photovoltaic plants to supply energy to communities living on several of the country’s islands.
