- The first phase, completed in 2022, delivered 5.7MW across all three sites in Madagascar, with plans for the second phase (36.3MW) in Q3 2024.
- The three large-scale hybridised heavy-fuel oil power plants have 10MW, 12MW, and 20MW solar PV.
Madagascar hybridises three large-scale heavy-fuel oil power plants with solar photovoltaic (PV) and plans to commence the second phase this year. This project has reduced CO2 emissions, making a single energy source more climate resilient and increasing Malagasy energy security through diversification. The Malagasy company, Ocean Trade, handles the EPC and O&M. Meanwhile, Enelec, the heavy fuel oil (HFO) independent power producer, purchases the power and onsells it to the national utility, JIRAMA.
The three large-scale hybridised heavy-fuel oil power plants in Diego, Mahajanga, and Toamasina have 10MW, 12MW, and 20MW solar PV, respectively. The $8.5 million project is being carried out in two phases to meet deadlines set out by the Malagasy government. The first phase, completed in 2022, delivered 5.7MW across all three sites. The government is also planning for the second phase (36.3MW) in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024. The project financing for phase two relies on non-recourse debt, a complex and time-intensive process in any business environment.
Installing the solar plants close to the existing power plants means they use the existing infrastructure. This significantly reduces costs and the environmental impact of the development. With 75 per cent of the country’s power generated from heavy fuel oil and diesel plants, the government is keen to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. So far, the hybridisation of the Diego plant has made it possible to use three generators instead of four during the day.
Consequently, this has reduced fuel consumption as they rely on the 2.4MW produced by the solar plant. The developer, LIDERA Green Power, generated job opportunities through sub-contractors during the first phase of building. For each project site, 100 per cent of employees were local. Recently, the developer started providing streetlights in the communities where it operates and made donations of well water in the communities that requested them.