The Angolan Ministry of Finance has secured €1.29 billion ($1.44 billion) from Standard Chartered to finance the construction of 48 hybrid PV systems across the provinces of Moxico, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Bie, and Malanje. The new solar infrastructure will provide sustainable electricity to 1 million people.

Angola’s Ministry of Finance has secured €1.29 billion from Standard Chartered to finance the construction of 48 hybrid PV systems across the Angolan provinces of Moxico, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Bie, and Malanje.

The minigrid systems have a combined capacity of 296 MW of solar, with energy storage in lithium-ion batteries of 719 MWh. The project will be implemented over a period of 36 months.

MCA will  manage and build the project. The financing of €1.29 billion is supported by German Export Credit Agency Euler Hermes.

“Depending on the level of consumption for the 48 sites we estimate an LCOE ranging between €0.153/KWh to €0.275/KWh for all the systems,” a spokesperson from MCA told pv magazine. “This considers not only the PV Generation but also the storage capacity for all 48 sites. As far as the cost for consumers per KWh is concerned, Angolan tariff regulation mandatorily applies. Depending on the type of consumer, a given price per kWh will be charged there are subsidies to electricity prices in Angola.”

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In early June, the Export-Import Bank of the United States awarded a loan to Angola’s Ministry of Energy and Water to deploy two large-scale solar power plants, totaling 500 MW.