ALTEN Africa is on the shortlist to construct and operate a 5MW plant in Cape Verde

  • The company, based in Spain, has satisfied the demanding technical and financial requirements for this first round of bidding and is competing head-to-head with some of the biggest energy players in the world market.
  • Cape Verde has a 2018-2040 Energy Plan to meet 50% of the country’s energy needs with renewably sourced energy by 2030.

Madrid | Spain – 12 March, 2019.- ALTEN Africa has once again won a place on a shortlist for a construction, development and operating contract, with a total run time of 25 years, for a 5MW plant on the island of Boa Vista, the most easterly of the 10 islands in the Cape Verde archipelago and the third biggest in size, with a landmass of 620 Km2 (29 km long by 31 km wide) and 55 km of beaches. Its natural landscape and year-long warm climate make the island very popular with tourists.

A large number of companies bid for the tender, called by the Ministry for Industry, Trade & Energy of the Republic of Cape Verde. Of these, only 8 made it to the shortlist. As well as ALTEN Africa, these include Akuo Energy, Elmya/Disa and Voltalia.

The plant will be built on the north-west part of the island. If the bid is successful, it will be entirely financed by ALTEN Africa, with investment estimated at around USD 8M.

Commercial operations are scheduled to begin during 2021; with solar radiation of 1,860 kWh/m2, the plant is expected to account for around 3.5% of the country’s installed capacity.

Like other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Cape Verde has a 2018-2040 Energy Plan, that is designed to meet 50% of the country’s energy needs with renewably sourced energy by 2030, so this public tender can be viewed as the first of many.

Cape Verde has become a significant tourism destination in the last few years. Many Spanish companies have built hotel complexes in the country, which has raised the number of its flight route connections with Europe. Taken together, this means that not only the public sector is interested in the enlargement and development of the country’s electricity capacity: several private companies are also looking for solutions of this nature.

 

About ALTEN Energías Renovables

ALTEN Africa, part of the ALTEN Energías Renovables group, is an Independent Power Producer (IPP), specialising in solar photovoltaic technology, with offices in the Netherlands, Spain, Kenya, Nigeria, Mexico and Namibia, and a team with great expertise in the development, financing, construction and operation of PV power plants in competitive environments. ALTEN Africa is currently completing the financing of 55 MWp PV plant in Kenya. The firm is finishing off work prior to another plant, with 45,5MWp, starting operations in Namibia. It is developing a 120 MWp project in Nigeria with a PPA (power purchase agreement) signed off with the country’s electricity provider NBET Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading. ALTEN America, its sister company in Latin America, is finalising the commissioning of a 350 MWp plant in Mexico. The group also has an extensive pipeline of projects, with over 900 MW at various stages of development.