PHOTON International The Photovoltaic Magazine

Mozambique rural electrification program to have PV component

Most of the $79.5 million for a rural electrification program in Mozambique announced in a Nov. 5 press release from the African Development Fund (ADF) will be used for grid extension. According to a document from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the funding includes $4.4 million for the first phase of a PV project worth 300 kW by the end of 2007 in rural and semi-urban areas. If successful in stimulating a local solar market, then another 700 kW could be installed as part of a follow-up rural electrification program.

The first phase will cover 300 systems for public institutions such as schools and health clinics, each averaging 750 W; an estimated 1,600 solar home systems (SHS) at around 40 W each; and 900 solar lanterns, each with a capacity of about 12 W.

The PV funding is coming from the World Bank Group's International Development Association (IDA), the ADF, the GEF, the Nordic Development Fund, the government of Mozambique, and private sources. The GEF grant of $1.5 million will be used to buy down the cost of the systems at an average of $5.20 per W.

The implementation of a second phase from 2008 through 2011 seems to depend on how well the first has helped create a PV market that leads to local credit and refinancing schemes. The plan currently calls for $8.6 million to be used for another 550 institutional systems, 6,000 SHS, and 7,000 lanterns with an average GEF buydown of $1.80.

Only about 6 percent of the country's households – 11 percent of the 2 million Mozambicans – have access to electricity, with over half of them living in and around the capital Maputo.