The World Bank supports the construction of photovoltaic power plants on four islands in Cape Verde, a West African country

East Asia Energy Industry Observation 2022-04-02

Praia, Cape Verde, 28 March 2022 - The Cape Verdean government has submitted a project worth US$16.5 million to build photovoltaic power plants totalling 3.5 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy on four islands (15 million euros) photovoltaic construction project, and received funding from the World Bank.

Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Improvement Sector Program in the Public Electricity Network of Cape Verde, PV projects worth US$ 12.5 million (€ 11.3 million) to be built on the island of Santo Antão, 1.2 MW on the island of Porto Novo, São Nicolau, Ribeira Brava 0.4 MW, Maio, Barreiro 0.4 MW, Fogo, Santa Catarina (1.3 MW).

According to the Cape Verdean government’s project introduction, during the five-year period after the relevant photovoltaic power plants are completed and put into operation, the government departments will grant their development rights to private power companies, and the relevant power companies will be “selected through public bidding.”

As a pilot project, it also involves building the infrastructure for interconnecting these plants with the public grid, as well as installing batteries to guarantee the storage of the electrical energy produced.

The World Bank said Cape Verde has one of the highest electricity prices in sub-Saharan Africa.

The country is completely dependent on imported fossil fuels, and the country does not have any oil refining capacity. Electricity prices in the region rose by about 30% on average in October. The government predicts that electricity prices will fall as renewable energy capacity gradually increases.