- Solarcentury Africa has closed the financing of a solar photovoltaic plant at the Balama graphite mine in Mozambique.
- The plant will be combined with a battery power storage system to power Syrah Resources’ facilities.
Renewable energy provider Solarcentury Africa has closed the financing of a solar photovoltaic plant at the Balama graphite mine in Mozambique. The unknown funding amount is being provided by CrossBoundary Energy (CBE), a financial partner.
The Balama mine is run by the Canadian business Syrah Resources and is located in the Cabo Delgado province of northern Mozambique. The plant will be connected to an 8.5 MW/MWh battery system for electricity storage. The technology will work in tandem with the thermal power plant in Balama extracting graphite.
Solarcentury will develop, own, and operate the solar power plant for ten years under the deal with Syrah Resources. Ownership will be passed to the mine operator after this period. Solarcentury will create a special purpose vehicle to carry out its mission. Syrah Resources will be able to lower the environmental impact of its Balama mine and its electricity costs due to this agreement. It estimates that the solar system will reduce the use of diesel in its mining operations by 35%.