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The Export-Import Bank of the United States has approved a USD 1.6 billion loan to the American company Sun Africa and its partners ING Capital and Omatapalo for a solar mini-grid project in southern Angola.
This is record financing for electrification and access to drinking water in rural Angola. The USD 1.6 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank of the United States of America will benefit Sun Africa, a company based in Miami, Florida. The American company is developing a portfolio of solar mini-grids for electrification and access to drinking water in rural areas, in partnership with ING Capital and Omatapalo.
According to the American bank, the project, which will create 3,100 jobs in the United States of America, will increase access to electricity and drinking water in several provinces of Angola that previously had none, and will help to improve health, education and social well-being. Sun Power will build 65 solar mini-grids equipped with electricity storage systems to supply households, as well as water collection and treatment systems in southern Angola.
Sun Africa plans to install 200 solar cabins and at least 60,000 solar home systems in Angola. These kits will provide access to electricity for at least 827,000 people. At the same time, 64 communities will be electrified through 220 MW of solar capacity and 286 MWh of battery storage. In the provinces of Catete and Lauca, the company will roll out six municipal distribution networks, bringing electricity to a further 45,000 homes.
Sun Africa will also build solar farms with a combined capacity of 600 MW for Angola’s national electricity grid. The US energy company estimates that the project in Angola’s southern provinces will bring electricity to 350,000 homes and supply drinking water to 1.1 million Angolans. For the US government, the stakes are also diplomatic.
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The USD 1.6 billion in funding has been granted under the China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP). The US Congress mandates this programme to support American exporters facing competition from China. Competition is tight in Angola, where China is leading the way, particularly in constructing electricity infrastructure.
China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) is currently building Angola’s largest dam. The mega reservoir on the Kwanza River will be equipped with a 2,172 MW hydroelectric power station. This is equivalent to the installed capacity of a country like Ivory Coast (2,230 MW).
