- Cuamba solar power plant is now completely in the construction phase
- The plant has a capacity of 19MWp with battery storage
The UK-based Independent Power Producer (IPP) Globeleq has made known the financial close of its Cuamba solar project in Mozambique. The Cuamba solar project is now completely in its construction phase. Globeleq is developing the project in partnership with Source Energia, a power producer in Portuguese-speaking Africa, and Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), Mozambique’s national electricity company.
The plant requires an investment of $36 million, and project partners have raised the necessary financing from the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF, $19 million) of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). In addition, the Viability Gap Funding (VGF), PIDG’s grant mechanism, provided $7 million to enable an affordable power purchase tariff.
The grant will also provide finance for the necessary upgrades to Mozambique’s national power grid to integrate renewable energy and a storage system for the state-owned utility EDM. Globeleq and its partners plan to equip the Cuamba solar plant with a 2MW (7MWh) battery storage system. This component of the project is also supported by $1 million in funding from CDC Plus, the technical assistance arm of UK investor CDC Group.