Mozambique

Solarcentury will develop the 100 MWac Chimuara Solar Project, starting with a 30 MW ac first stage.

The International Renewable Energy Agency’s latest annual report on the progress towards UN sustainable development goal seven estimates 670 million people will still lack electricity in 2030, and more than 2 billion will be reliant on unhealthy, polluting cooking methods.

The floating array is planned for a water reservoir in Chicamba, in Manica province. Consultants are now being sought for the feasibility studies.

Anglo-Norwegian public funding body Globeleq has said the 19 MWp/2MW-7 MWh Cuamba project will be supplying electricity during the second half of next year.

A new foundation set up by KfW will offer grants to attract investment in a bid to offer more than 350,000 people access to clean electricity.

With pressure mounting on the world’s governments to turn their back on the fossil fuel, China and peers in South East Asia, Europe and South Asia could help deliver a coal-free future at the COP26 climate summit planned in Glasgow in November.

The Africa Solar Industry Association has recorded almost 2 GW of large scale project announcements since the start of last month with 18 countries planning new clean power infrastructure and including energy storage in the plants.

A solar array planned in the Tetereane district of Cuamba has been described by its developer as the nation’s first independent power project to feature utility scale storage.

The five solar-plus-storage facilities will be located in Zambézia and Nampula provinces.

An overview of the state of solar across the continent by trade body the Africa Solar Industry Association has highlighted a patchy policy landscape where clean power ambitions are often not followed through.