The first solar power project for Mozambique is currently under way, according to Omar Mithá, special economic adviser to Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique.Speaking during a recent conference, he said the 40-megawatt project was being funded by a donor institution and was a public private partnership. “The cost of funding this project was quite low and interest from the private sector in renewable projects is high. The government has committed to more renewable energy and has launched a new programme to drive this process forward.”He said there was huge interest from Mozambique’s development partners to support more renewable energy projects as the country was well suited to solar power development. “The economics of it is tied in with the power utility company. The funding is therefore not purely commercial. We are busy with due diligence processes, looking at the financial model and the risks involved – as well as the opportunities and benefits.” He said one of the major challenges in southern Africa was the fact that most power utility companies were monopolies and not that interested in opening up for the private sector. “We are looking at the concession model as well where it is built, operated and then transferred over a number of years back to the government.” He said President Nyusi was on record as saying he wanted at least 20% of domestic power generation to come from solar within the next ten years.“It is a good target to work towards,” said Mithá. “But, we don’t want to cannibalise our resources. We need to make sure that developments with solar happen in line with developments in gas.” He said the country would have to focus on finding new buyers for its resources, including gas. “What happens when long-term contracts are not renewed? This could happen, and we need to be sure we have plans in place before this ever occurs.” Mithá said one thing that was clear was that both solar and gas would play increasingly important roles in the Mozambican economy. “We have, for the most part, placed our bets on gas. We need the cash from the petroleum oil companies to uplift our country. We do see gas as a game changer and therefore materialising the gas projects is of critical importance. We will also focus on solar, but we don’t want to take the risk of cannibalisation.”
INSERT: "President Nyusi is on record as saying he wants at least 20% of domestic power generation to come from solar within the next ten years."– Omar Mithá
