- A glimmer of hope is emerging for the inhabitants of Madagascar’s capital, who are regularly confronted with power outages.
- Once completed, the Ambohidrano Atsinanana solar power plant will produce 7 MW, with batteries with a capacity of 4.2 MWh and seven transformers totalling 6,500 kVA.
A glimmer of hope is emerging for the inhabitants of Madagascar‘s capital, who are regularly confronted with power outages.
According to the schedule established by the technicians of the Madagascar Ministry of Energy and Hydrocarbons (MEH), the Ambohidrano Atsinanana solar power plant, located in the rural commune of Sabotsy Namehana, will begin to gradually inject electricity into the Antananarivo Interconnected Network (RIA) from the beginning of December.
This commissioning is part of the government’s strategy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and mitigate load shedding.
The Minister of Energy and Hydrocarbons, Ny Ando Ralitera, raided the site on Sunday, November 2. He gave instructions to speed up the pace of work and stressed the need to quickly transport the necessary equipment to allow workers to work day and night.
Once completed, the Ambohidrano Atsinanana solar power plant will produce 7 MW, with batteries with a capacity of 4.2 MWh and seven transformers totalling 6,500 kVA. Currently, 60 per cent of the foundations have been installed, and 35 per cent of the 12,000 photovoltaic panels have already been installed.
Additionally, this plant is part of a set of projects aimed at addressing a 30 MW deficit in the interconnected network of Antananarivo.
Other sites are also being deployed, including Ampangabe (4 MW, already operational since October), Ambatomirahavavy (1.5 MW), Arivonimamo (9.5 MW), and Sabotsy Namehana. All of these plants are expected to be fully operational by the end of January 2026.
In addition, similar projects are being developed in the provinces: Mahajanga (2 MW), Nosy Be (3 MW), Antsiranana (3 MW) and Toliara (2 MW). The new leaders that the prolonged load shedding recently provoked popular demonstrations that led to the fall of the regime of Andry Rajoelina.