- As the third largest oil-producing country on the African continent Angola dreams of a greener future.
- By 2025, the Central African country wants to produce 80% of its electricity from renewable sources.
João Lourenço was one of the African heads of state present during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, which ended on Thursday, January 19, 2023. The president of Angola recently spoke in the United Arab Emirates on his nation’s plans for sustainable growth, including a goal to generate 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
Because Angola already generates 56% of its electricity from renewable sources, despite being the third-largest oil producer on the African continent (with 1.11 million barrels of crude produced in 2021, according to the German portal Statista). Only hydroelectric dams—including the Laùca (2,070 W), Cambambe (960 MW), Capanda (520 MW) on the Kwanza River, and Matala (40 MW) on the Matala River—produce clean electricity.
With the Caculo Cabaça hydroelectric power station (2,172 MW) scheduled for commissioning in 2024 and the Baynes power station (600 MW), which will be operational before 2030, the production capacity of hydroelectric power should rise during the coming years. Luanda aims to add solar energy to its mix of electricity sources simultaneously. Thanks to a collaboration between French independent power producer (IPP) Total Eren and local developer Angola Environment Technology, the 35 MWp Lubango solar photovoltaic power plant should start operating in 2023. (Greentech).
Over the coming years, it is anticipated that installed solar capacity will rise. Masdar pledges (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company). The Emirati company plans to invest in developing 2 GW of installed solar energy capacity.