Angola is encountering significant difficulties in distributing 2 GW of its available energy.
On April 17, 2024, the 14th Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) was officially inaugurated in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Angola holds the vice-presidency along with the Dominican Republic, Georgia, and Iraq, under the leadership of Rwanda. Representing Angola were João Baptista Borges, Minister of Energy and Water, and Júlio Maiato, Angola’s Ambassador to the UAE and Permanent Representative to IRENA.
Throughout the day, an executive overview of IRENA was presented in a high-level plenary session on tripling renewable energies. Member States discussed the renewable energy implementation targets for the 169 member countries.
Ambassador Júlio Maiato chaired the final working session of the day as Angola’s Permanent Representative to IRENA.
In his speech at the 14th IRENA Assembly, João Baptista Borges expressed satisfaction with Angola’s acceptance of the vice-presidency and congratulated Rwanda for its excellent presidency, as well as the other vice-presidents.
Borges emphasized Africa’s vulnerability to climate change, citing challenges such as droughts, water scarcity, desertification, and a lack of resilient infrastructure in Angola.
He reported that Angola’s installed electricity production capacity increased from 2.4 GW in 2015 to 6.2 GW in 2023. Hydroelectric generation rose from 39% to 60%, while thermal generation dropped from 61% to 36% during the same period.
This progress was made possible by significant investments, including the completion of the Laúca Hydroelectric Plant with a capacity of 2 GW, and the ongoing construction of the Caculo-Cabaça Hydroelectric Plant, which will help achieve a production capacity of 9 GW.
The Minister also highlighted the completion in 2022 of the Biópio and Baía Farta Photovoltaic Plants, contributing about 4% to the public electricity production matrix, saving approximately 3 million tons of fossil fuels annually, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 9 million tons.
Significant achievements include increasing the electrification rate to 43% and reducing diesel consumption in thermal plants by nearly 60% over eight years.
Despite these advancements, Borges stated that the challenges remain substantial, especially in expanding the energy transmission network to distribute 2 GW of available energy and interconnecting with neighboring countries like Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to market the energy surplus in the regional market.
Angola is also reforming its electricity sector legal framework, including creating a legal regime for Independent Power Producers, who can sell energy to the public sector through Power Purchase Agreements under free competition.
João Baptista Borges also discussed the 2023-2027 Energy Sector Action Plan, aligned with the Long-Term 2050 Agenda, which aims to incorporate at least 72% renewable energy into the energy matrix, with 1.2 GW of solar energy by 2027, and achieve a 50% electrification rate with an investment of around $12 billion.
This year, projects for solar photovoltaic parks are expected to add 584.50 MW to the grid, along with 90 MW and 25 MWh of battery storage. Additionally, electrification projects have been approved in the eastern and southern provinces of Angola to provide electricity to over 6 million inhabitants in 132 locations, primarily through solar systems.
Outside the conference, Minister Borges held bilateral meetings with the Minister of Infrastructure and Mineral Resources of São Tomé and Príncipe, sharing experiences in the CPLP presidency, and with funding entities such as the IFC of the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) for sustainable solutions.
He also met with representatives of potential renewable energy project financiers, focused on sustainable rural solutions. They expressed interest in participating in these challenges and proposed quick solutions for a sustainable energy transition, as well as the transfer of knowledge and technologies to Angola.
