Praia, Sep 23 (Inforpress) – The Government of Cape Verde and the company Cabeólica signed today, in Praia, a memorandum of understanding for the expansion of the wind farm in Santiago and the storage of renewable energy from the islands of Sal and Santiago.

This project, according to a note from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Energy, points to the installation of more wind turbines, with a total capacity of 13 megawatts, at the Monte São Filipe wind farm, on the island of Santiago.

Pretende-se ainda, avança a mesma fonte, a instalação de duas baterias de armazenamento de energia de cinco megawatts cada, nas ilhas do Sal e de Santiago.

On the occasion, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Energy, Alexandre Monteiro said that this investment by Cabeólica allows a better use of the country's wind energy capacities.

"All of this will contribute to the increase in terms of the volume of renewable energy produced in the country (...) which allows to go from the level of 20 to 30 percent (%) of penetration in the network", he explained.

For the minister, this investment is part of the country's energy transition strategy, allowing Cape Verde to reach the target of 30% renewable penetration, established in the master plan for the electricity sector, approved in 2018.

"We will continue to work and create the conditions for this project to materialize within the foreseen horizon, for its entry into operation in 2024", assured the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Energy.

In turn, the director of energy, Rito Évora, reiterated that this project is part of the Government's policy for energy transition and that it will create the conditions for carrying out the detailed technical studies to start construction.

Cabeolica's managing director, Bruno Lopes, said that the company assumes its role as a partner of the Government in the country's energy transition, "so, with this project, it reaffirms its contribution to energy acceleration".

“Over the last 10 years, Cabeólica has positioned itself as a leader in renewable energies in Cape Verde and we would like to continue to assume this role”, he projected.

Cabeólica, explained the same source, is the result of a PPP (Public Private Partnership) between the State of Cape Verde, Electra, S.A., and foreign investors, currently the África Finance Corporation (Financial Development Institution, of which the State of Cape Verde is also a member) and AP Moller Capital, belonging to the AP Moller Group (MAERSK), a world leader in maritime logistics/transport.

Funders are the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank.

OM/HF

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