Mozambique: TotalEnergies granted right to build Dondo solar power plant

The Mozambican government has selected the French multinational oil and gas giant TotalEnergies to fund the construction of the solar power plant in Dondo district, in the central province of Sofala.

This is the same company awarded the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in the Rovuma Basin, off the coast of the northern Cabo Delgado province.

The power station in Dondo, about 30 kilometres from the Port City of Beira, is part of a number of initiatives developed by the Mozambican government in a bid to attain the goal of generating 200 Megawatts from renewable energy sources by 2024.

A press release issued on Wednesday by Mozambique’s Energy Regulating Authority (AREN) states that five potential investors were pre-qualified, one of which subsequently dropped out. Thus, only four of the bidders upheld their interest. Of these, only two delivered viable technical proposals.

After a thorough assessment by the multi-sector jury, Total was regarded as the bidder with the best technical and financial proposal, thus being granted the right to implement the project.

In Dondo, the publicly owned electricity company, EDM, wants to set up a 40 Megawatt solar power plant, in the framework of the Renewable Energies Auction Programme (PROLER), as part of the “Energy for All” government initiative intended to ensure universal access to energy by 2030 and to diversify the energy mix.

The Government’s commitment is to develop all the renewable energy projects and integrate them into the national power grid, and consequently reduce the country’s carbon footprint.

Other solar power stations will be developed in Manje, in the central province of Tete, Lichinga in the northern Niassa province and a wind turbine cluster in the southern province of Inhambane.