Cape Verde Unveils Its Largest Solar Plant

Cape Verde’s Ministry of Energy and Commerce has inaugurated a 5 MW solar plant – the country’s largest to date in terms of capacity and efficiency.

The project is located in the town of Santa Maria on the island of Sal. It was built by Aguas de Ponta Preta, a company based in Cape Verde. The ministry said the project is part of a series of investments, including eight more solar arrays.

“Switching to renewable energy will not only reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, it will lower our energy bill and also protect us from external shocks and inflationary fluctuations in energy prices,” the ministry said in a statement. “When we hit more than 50% penetration rate we'll start to really feel the effects of reduced external impact, shocks and payments balance. Then this hits people's homes and businesses.”

Cape Verde has set a target of reaching over 30% of renewables in its electricity mix by 2026 and then to exceed 50% by 2030. Figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency show that Cape Verde had 26 MW of cumulative installed solar by the end of 2023, up from 23 MW at the end of 2022.