Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) will act as a sole lender and provide $19m to Central Electrica de Tetereane SA (CET) for the construction of the Cuamba plant. A 19MW solar electricity plant to be built in the Niassa province of Mozambique reached financial close. The project will provide clean energy to thousands of people contributing to SDG 7 which focuses on delivering access to clean energy and support job creation in Niassa, one of the country’s poorest provinces in the country. The Cuamba plant is the first utility-scale solar project in Mozambique to include battery storage. It will deliver up to 7 megawatt hours of energy, with the aim of boosting solar output during the evening peak demand. This will contribute to grid stability and displace thermal generation, avoiding emissions, which in turn supports SDG 13 which focuses on climate mitigation. The introduction of battery technology will be an opportunity to learn and apply lessons on battery storage.
The project was co-developed with Source Energia a diversified renewable energy business focused on the development and operations of large and small scale on- and off-grid projects in Lusephone Africa. To improve the commerciality of the project whilst maintaining tariffs at an affordable level, PIDG TA provided a $7m Viability Gap Funding (VGF) grant to CET. The grant funded project costs, including the battery storage unit. This is the first time PIDG TA has deployed a VGF grant to a solar project with a battery storage component. CD Group, a shareholder in Globeleq, also provided a grant towards battery costs.