Cape Verde Government launches tender for two new solar power plants

The Cape Verdean government expects private companies to move forward until May with the construction of two solar power plants, on the islands of Sal and São Vicente, with a total electricity production capacity of 10 MegaWatts (MW).

The information is contained in the international public tender for the allocation of grid reception capacity for two photovoltaic solar power plants, each with a capacity of 5MW. The call for proposals was launched on December 31, 2019, through the National Directorate for Industry, Commerce and Energy (DNICE).

The contest involves the Request for Expression of Interest (REI) to “mobilize private sector promoters, consortia or joint ventures to design, project, build, commission, finance, own, operate and maintain” the two power plants, on an independent power producers scheme. The two power plants will be installed in Santa Maria, Sal island, and in Salamansa, São Vicente island.

These two power plants, whose electricity production will be acquired for injection into the national grid, are part of the Sustainable Development Plan (PDES) prepared by the Government of Cape Verde, which sets the target of more than 50% of renewable energies penetration by 2030.

Electricity production in Cape Verde through the public company Electra was distributed at the end of 2018 by 11 thermal power plants, a wind farm and two solar power plants, plus four independent producers' power plants. The total available capacity of Electra was 132MW distributed by 124.664 MW (94.4%) of thermal power plants, 0.6 MW (0.5%) of wind power and 6,750 MW (5.1%) of solar power plants.

Electricity production in Cape Verde in 2018 reached 429.6 GWh, of which 79.2% was thermal, 18.7% wind and 2.1% solar.