Electricity production in Mozambique from solar parks will quadruple in 2024, in more than a dozen infrastructures, according to documents supporting the State Budget proposal for next year.
According to the document, under debate in Parliament and to which Lusa had access yesterday, the installed capacity of solar parks in 2023 was estimated by the Mozambican Government at 71,777 MegaWatts-hour (MWh), which next year is expected to grow to 278,519 MWh , an increase of 288%, in the space of one year.
The Mocuba solar plant alone, in the province of Zambézia, in the center of the country, will increase its production by 5% next year, compared to 2023, to 73,067 MWh, according to the government forecast. Mozambique expects to produce, globally, 18,496,557 MWh in 2024, a reduction of 1% compared to 2023, mainly guaranteed by hydroelectric plants, with 14,995,899 MWh (-2%), and essentially resulting from the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Plant (HCB ), with 14,506,036 MWh (-3), still accounting for 82% of the entire national production structure.
“Comparing the estimated production and sales for 2023, HCB predicts a reduction in Energy Production and Sales for 2024, due to repair work on the floodgate diffuser (preparatory activities for the Central Rehabilitation Project – RS2) which will make the groups unavailable generators 4 and 5”, the document reads.
Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), a state-owned producer and distributor, forecasts growth of 7% compared to projections for 2023, influenced by the substantial increase in production from the Mavuzi and Chicamba hydro plants.
