The off-grid solar project, which includes 31.85 MW of solar energy connected to 75.26 MWh of battery energy storage, will provide energy to more than 90,000 people in eastern Angola.
Portuguese group MCA has inaugurated a 31.85 MW off-grid solar park in Angola, coupled with 75.26 MWh of battery energy storage.
The Luau photovoltaic park is now the largest off-grid solar park in Africa, surpassing the record previously set by MCA’s Cazombo solar park, also in Angola, which came online late last year.
The project was designed and built by MCA, with Angolan state-owned electricity company PRODEL Ep acting as project developer. The production capacity is sufficient to supply energy to more than 90,000 people in the area, while the battery bank also provides energy supply at night and completely eliminates the need for fossil fuels, a statement from MCA explained.
The solar park is located in eastern Angola on the Lobito Corridor, a rail and logistics infrastructure project that aims to connect the Port of Lobito on the west coast of Angola with the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia in the east.
Valued at €87 million ($102 million), MCA says the project has attracted significant European investment due to its strategic location near the border with the DRC. The financing was structured by the British Standard Chartered Bank with the support of the German Export Agency, which provided a guarantee of approximately €1 billion, reinsured by the Portuguese and Korean Export Agencies.
The Luau and Cazombo solar farms are both part of Angola’s Rural Electrification Project, a government initiative that plans to deploy 46 autonomous mini-grids powered by solar farms. The project aims to reach more than one million people across 60 municipalities in Angola.
MCA Chairman Manuel Couto Alves says the project “represents a commitment to communities that have lived without access to energy for decades.”
“The completion of the Cazombo and Luau parks marks just the beginning of a structural and ambitious program, which will continue to expand in the coming years,” he added. “We will continue to work side by side with communities to ensure electrification goes where it makes the most difference.”
The Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA) has identified 467.8 MW of operational solar power in Angola, according to figures available in its projects database.
In January, Abu Dhabi-based developer Masdar signed an agreement to purchase 150 MW of solar power in Angola, marking the first phase of a 500 MW multi-site project.
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