Sudan signs MOU for construction of 500 MW of solar power firms

The government of Sudan has signed with the United Arab Emirates particularly the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, a memorandum of understanding for the construction of solar power firms with a total capacity of 500 MW. The MoU was signed on Sunday the 1st of November 2020 by the Sudanese minister of energy and mining, Khairy Abdul Rahmanhas, and the general director of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi.

The Sudanese government, in an official statement, pledged to buy back the energy produced by these plants at a competitive price for a period of 20 years. The plants whose number and size are yet to be disclosed will be built by unknown UAE energy companies.

Also Read: Crude oil refinery plant to be constructed at Paloch, South Sudan

The country’s first attempt to deploy utility-scale PV capacity

If implemented, these projects would represent the East African country’s first attempt to set up utility-scale PV capacity. The country has one of the lowest levels of solar development in the region although it has one of the highest levels of solar radiation in the world, exceeding 2000 kWh/m2 per annum.

Hydropower still dominates the country’s power supply sector with a 70% share, while solar energy is at the bottom of the list providing less than 0.1% share despite the government’s efforts to increase the share of renewables in the country’s energy mix over the past years.

According to the latest statistics from the International Renewable Energy Agency, Sudan had only 19 MW of installed solar power at the end of last year. The East African country government is aiming to install 500 MW of solar and 300 MW of wind by the end of the current year.

About the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development

Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), is an autonomous national entity affiliated with Abu Dhabi government.  It aims to help developing countries to achieve sustainable socio-economic growth through financial assistance in the forms of concessionary loans, managing government grants, and equities.

ADFD also peruses investments in order to encourage the private sector in the recipient countries to play an essential part in accelerating the economic development process, and at the same time playing a pivotal role in strengthening and diversifying the future resources of the Fund.