Image: Solar roof photo created by prostooleh – www.freepik.com“>Prostooleh via Freepik
French-based independent power producer (IPP), Neoen, has officially commissioned the 41 MWp Metoro solar power plant in Mozambique. Inaugurated in October 2020 by Mozambican President, H.E. Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, the project will come online in the next few weeks, supplying much-needed electricity to the national grid.
Located in the north-eastern province of Cabo Delgado, the solar power plant comprises 121,500 solar panels covering a 138-hectare site and was constructed by Portuguese energy and engineering company, Efacec Power Solutions.
Through a power purchase agreement with Mozambique’s state-owned company, Electricidade de Mocambique, the solar plant will power an estimated 175,000 Mozambican homes, feeding into the national grid over a 20-year period while reducing 49,000 tons of carbon emissions annually. A €40-million loan was secured by Neoen through Proparco – the private sector financing division of the French Development Agency – for the construction of the project.
The solar power plant is set to diversify the southern African country’s energy mix while increasing domestic renewable generation capacity.