ANGOLA – The Export-Import Bank of the United States has approved a record US$1.6 billion loan to Sun Africa, a Miami-based company, in collaboration with ING Capital and Omatapalo, to support a solar mini-grid project in southern Angola.
This initiative marks a significant milestone in rural Angola’s electrification and water access efforts.
The project aims to transform energy and water infrastructure in provinces lacking these essential services, with benefits of far-reaching health, education, and social well-being.
The American consortium will build 65 solar mini-grids with electricity storage, water collection, and treatment systems. The project is expected to create 3,100 jobs in the United States.
In Cunene, Huila, Namibe, and Cuando Cubango, Sun Africa plans to install 200 solar cabins and at least 60,000 solar home systems, providing electricity to over 827,000 people.
Additionally, 64 communities will benefit from 220 MW of solar capacity and 286 MWh of battery storage. The initiative will also see the construction of six municipal distribution networks in Catete and Lauca, bringing electricity to 45,000 more homes.
Furthermore, Sun Africa will develop solar farms with a combined capacity of 600 MW to feed into Angola’s national electricity grid.
Overall, the project is set to electrify 350,000 homes and supply drinking water to 1.1 million Angolans.
This funding is part of the US government’s China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP), which is designed to support American exporters facing competition from China.
In Angola, competition is fierce, with China leading the construction of electricity infrastructure.
Recently, China Energy Engineering Corporation (Energy China) recommissioned the 34 MW Luachimo hydroelectric power station, and its subsidiary, China Gezhouba Group Corporation, is currently building Angola’s largest dam, a 2,172 MW hydroelectric power station on the Kwanza River, comparable to the total installed capacity of Ivory Coast.
The work is nearing completion and has been carried out since 2017. The works included repairs to the hydromechanical equipment, the construction of a new water diversion canal, the installation of four new turbines, each with an 8.5 MW generating capacity, the construction of a new 60 kV substation, and the addition of transmission and distribution networks.
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