The Mozambican government will get a $2.5 million grant from the African Development Bank, AfDB, to help it develop its renewable energy sources.
The money will be used to carry out the Mozambique Renewable Energy Integration Programme (MREP), which was acquired through the Bank-managed Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA).
With the help of private sector investments, SEFA, a multi-donor special fund, strives to give everyone in Africa access to services that are accessible, dependable, sustainable, and modern.
By providing financial support for technical, economic, environmental, and social feasibility studies for the construction of a solar floating power plant in Chicamba reservoir, the funds will help the national electricity company.
Additionally, it will pay capacity building for EDM’s staff, financing for a feasibility study for Energy Battery Systems Storage at up to 10 sites, and assistance with tender preparation.
According to Dr. Daniel Schroth, Director of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at the AfDB, Mozambique’s capacity to incorporate higher percentages of variable renewables would strengthen its aspirations to become a significant regional electricity supplier.
“Given that Mozambique is one of the most highly climate-vulnerable countries in the world, the project will help build a more sustainable and resilient power generation infrastructure”, he said,
The Chairman of EDM, the Beneficiary, thanked the Bank for its support and stated: “We are very excited to launch the activities under the SEFA in Mozambique, which comes with a set of very strategic and innovative projects, that will fund a study on storage needs, that will enable the development of more renewable energy projects.
According to him, the assistance provided by SEFA also entails a strong capacity-building program that will allow their staff to gain strategic expertise in the creation and administration of renewable energy projects.
Additionally, research will be done with the donation’s help to raise the proportion of variable renewable energy output in Mozambique’s energy mix. In already-existing EDM hydropower assets, feasibility studies for the development of floating photovoltaic solar energy will be carried out.
Mozambique is blessed with an abundance of energy from renewable fuel resources, but it is increasingly afflicted by powerful and abrupt cyclones, storms, and extended drought spells. The energy industry in Mozambique has advanced significantly over the past ten years.
Despite poor access rates, the nation is a net exporter of electricity (57 percent in urban areas and 13 percent in rural areas). 187 gigawatts of untapped coal, hydroelectricity, gas, wind, and solar energy resources give Mozambique the largest potential for power generation in southern Africa.
Additionally, around 81 percent of installed capacity is currently supplied by hydropower. However, the share of natural gas and renewable energy sources in Mozambique’s energy mix is expected to increase.
In Mozambique, the AfDB is a significant role in the energy industry. For the $20 billion Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project in Mozambique, it provided funding totaling more than $400 million. The Bank additionally supports the Tamine Gas Project and other energy production, transmission, and distribution projects.
The repair of the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric power station, the construction of a transmission line from the north to transmit electricity to the south, and the Mphanda Nkuwa hydroelectric power station project are all being supported by it.