Two solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants – with a total installed capacity of 284 MW – have commenced operation in Angola’s western province of Benguela.
The solar plants come as part of the country’s Energy Angola 2025 program, which aims to diversify Angola’s electricity mix through investment in clean energy.
At a cost of $300 million, the Biópio Solar Plant, situated in the Catumbela municipality, is the country’s biggest solar energy project, with a capacity of 188 MW, while the Baía Farta Solar Plant, with a capacity of 96 MW, features 261,360 solar panels and costs approximately $152 million.
The installations of the solar power plants and related systems in Angola were carried out by Portuguese business group MCA, having led the project’s execution phase in engineering, procurement and construction as part of an international consortium.
The Biópio and Baía Farta projects are the first of seven solar power plants expected to become operational by 2023.
Announced in 2020, the construction of the solar farms will be led by MCA and will provide the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bié, Luanda-Norte, Luanda-Sul, and Moxico with a total generating capacity of 370 MW, providing clean and renewable electricity to approximately 2.4 million Angolans.
The initiative, which is financed by World Bank subsidiary, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as well as public financial institution, the French Development Agency, was launched in 2021 and aims to bring clean, reliable electricity to approximately 2.4 million Angolans, particularly in rural areas where 92% of the population lack access to electricity.
