Masdar, a renewable energy firm from the United Arab Emirates, will undertake a project to build a 150 MW solar park in southern Angola, specifically in the Municipality of Quipungo, Huíla province. The concession agreement with this strategic UAE company was signed today, December 2nd, during the COP28 Conference on Climate Change at Expo City Dubai, between Angola’s Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, and Masdar’s CEO, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi.
This project will generate up to 600 direct jobs and supply clean electricity to 90,000 households in a region with notable electricity supply challenges. The agreement signed at COP28 underscores the Angolan Government’s dedication to a fair energy transition, economic growth, and carbon emission reductions in Africa and globally. This initiative will significantly contribute to Angola’s aim of boosting its national electrification rate to over 50% by 2027.
“This contract is part of a previously signed agreement, which also included another for project development. Now we are signing a concession contract for the construction of a 150 MW solar park in southern Angola, specifically in the Municipality of Quipungo,” stated Minister João Baptista Borges to the press. According to the Minister of Energy and Water, this private investment will provide solar capacity that not only serves the Huíla Province but also distributes capacity to Namibe.
“In this southern region of the country, there is a significant energy supply shortage, and we still rely on thermal energy. Therefore, this project will also replace thermal energy with clean energy,” said His Excellency Minister João Baptista Borges. The Minister explained that Masdar will supply energy to both the public grid and private consumers. “The supply will be managed by the public grid under a power purchase agreement to be signed soon between the National Transport Network (RNT) and the park operator. The newly signed contract is a concession lasting 25 to 30 years, allowing the park to operate and giving the investor land rights for the park’s location.”
During the opening of COP28, His Excellency Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, President of Masdar, and designated President of COP28, remarked that “Africa has all it needs to become the world’s powerhouse of renewable energy.”
