Agence Française de Développement said this week that work has started on a 41 MW solar plant that French independent power producer Neoen is developing in Metoro, Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique.
The plant will be is together owned by Neoen and utility Electricidade de Mocambique (EDM) through a special purpose vehicle, Central Solar Metoro. It is expected to generate around 68 GWh of electricity per year.
The project is being developed under the Projeto de Promoção de Leilões para Energias Renováveis (PROLER) initiative, which is aimed at construct a regulatory framework and auction mechanism for the development of large-scale renewable energy projects. The Agence Française de Développement has agreed to provide $40 million of financing.
The 40 MW Mocuba Solar IPP project, developed by Norway’s Scatec Solar, is the one and only large-scale solar facility in Mozambique currently. The $76 million project, started in August 2020, and has a 25 year power purchase agreement with EDM. It has increased the country’s total installed PV capacity from only 17 MW at the end of 2018 to around 60 MW today.
In early October, the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy launched a tender for the deployment of 3 solar power projects with capacities of 40 MW each.
