Luanda - The Saurimo Photovoltaic Plant, in the eastern Lunda-Sul Province, was inaugurated this Tuesday, by the minister of Energy and Waters, João Baptista Borges.
The event was attended by the ambassador of the United States of America to Angola, Tulinabo Mushingi, a South Korean representative, as well as the governor of Lunda-Sul, Daniel Neto.
The undertaking has the capacity of producing 26.13 Megwatts (MW) of power, to serve more than 170,000 families in that province.
The action is part of the Angolan Government's objective, identified in the “Energy Angola 2025” plan, which aims to diversify the country's energy sources and provide electricity to around 60% of the rural population.
Budgeted at 38.8 million euros, the project includes a total of 44,850 solar panels and will produce more than 49,000 MWh/year.
A 15 kV medium voltage line will also be built.
The Saurimo Photovoltaic Park is part of a group of seven, with a total capacity of 370 MWp, in the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bié, Lunda-Norte (in Lucapa) and Moxico (in Luena), which should be operational by end of the current year.
The set of solar parks were developed by an international consortium made up of the companies Sun Africa and MCA, the latter being responsible for the engineering component and the respective construction, allowing the supply of renewable and clean electricity to around 2.4 million Angolans, also contributing to the annual reduction of pollutant emissions of around one million tons of CO2 (carbon dioxide).
Solar parks also eliminate the need to consume around 1.4 million liters of diesel in generators and thermal production, with highly polluting effects, which will allow significant savings in fuel import costs.
EH/AC/CF/jmc
