Angola has secured a EUR 1.29 billion loan to build its new solar distribution network, according to reports. The loan, which will enable communities currently not connected to the national grid to access 100 percent renewable energy, is between Angola’s Ministry of Finance and London-based Standard Chartered bank. It’s backed by Germany’s export credit agency (ECA).
The new loan will cover the cost of 48 hybrid photovoltaic generation and energy storage systems that will serve more than 200,000 households in 60 communities across the country. The new solar farms are expected to save the country up to 7.9 megatons of CO2 emissions, as well as extend the national grid.
[See more: Feasibility study launched for 300MW solar-plus-storage project in Mozambique]
The Portuguese engineering contractor MCA Group will manage the project for the Angolan government.
Credit insurance company Euler Hermes executive Edna Schöne described the project as “not only of crucial importance for Angola and Sub-Saharan Africa” but a major win for the climate in terms of carbon emission reductions. Euler Hermes is supporting the loan.
The EUR 1.29 billion loan follows a smaller, US$900 million loan to build a 500MW solar farm.
Africa is currently experiencing a solar boom, with nearly 1GW of new solar installed in 2022, a 14 percent increase on the previous year. Angola is leading the way, adding more solar than the next three countries (South Africa, Egypt and Ghana) combined. Much of that progress has come through international loans and partnerships.
Last August, MCA – the engineer on the newest project – completed work on solar farms in two cities in Angola’s western Benguela Province, providing 285MW of power to about 1.8 million people.
In June 2022, the country netted US$2 billion in loans from the US’s Export-Import Bank to develop solar mini-grids, home power kits and solar-to-power telecoms in partnership with two US-based firms.
