Two solar energy parks in Biópio and Baa Farta have been fully constructed in the Benguela Province of Angola. With a combined installed capacity of 285 MW, the parks were built by MCA. Manuel Couto Alves, an entrepreneur, founded the Portuguese group in Guimaraes, Portugal, back in 1998.
MCA also led the project’s implementation in engineering, procurement, and construction, which was completed on July 20.
Overview of the two solar energy parks in Biópio and Baa Farta
The solar energy parks in Biópio has a total installed capacity of 189 MW. It is made up of over 509,000 solar panels. As a result, the facility is Angola’s biggest solar energy project. The Baa Farta plant, on the other hand, has an installed capacity of 96 MW. It is made up of about 261,000 solar panels. The facility will directly inject solar energy into the national grid for the benefit of approximately 500,000 users.
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The two solar energy parks in Biópio and Baa Farta are a part of seven more solar plants. All these are developed under the government’s 2018–2022 National Development Plan. They are expected to be operational by the end of the year.
After completion, the solar farms will have a total of 370 MW of producing capacity. The beneficiaries will be 2.4 million Angolans in the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bié, Luanda-Norte, and Luanda-Sul.
The solar energy parks contribute to the country’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
The construction of the seven solar energy parks reportedly shows Angola’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Firstly, they will do away with the need to use about 215 million liters of diesel a year for generators and thermal production. They will consequently enable a yearly reduction of emissions of about one million tons of carbon dioxide. This will subsequently result in a huge reduction in the country’s imports.
