Today, 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 alongside the Dominican Republic, Georgia, and Iraq, under the presidency of Rwanda. Angola was represented by João Baptista Borges, Minister of Energy and Water, and Angola’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Permanent Representative to IRENA, Júlio Maiato.
During the day, an executive overview of IRENA was presented in a high-level plenary session on tripling renewable energies, with Member States discussing the implementation targets for renewable energy of the 169 member countries of the organization.
Ambassador Júlio Maiato, as Angola’s Permanent Representative to IRENA, chaired the last working session of the day.
In his address to the 14th IRENA Assembly, João Baptista Borges expressed his satisfaction with Angola’s acceptance of the vice-presidency of the Assembly and congratulated Rwanda for its excellent work as president, as well as the other vice-presidents.
João Baptista Borges highlighted Africa’s vulnerability to climate change and how Angola faces challenges such as droughts, water scarcity, desertification, and the lack of resilient infrastructure.
He reported that Angola increased its installed electricity production capacity from 2.4 GW in 2015 to 6.2 GW in 2023. Hydroelectric generation grew from 39% to 60%, while thermal generation decreased from 61% to 36% in the same period.
This development was achieved through significant investments, noting 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 mentioned the completion in 2022 of the Biópio and Baía Farta Photovoltaic Plants, which contribute approximately 4% of the public electricity production matrix, saving about 3 million tons of fossil fuels annually and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 9 million tons.
Increasing the electrification rate to 43% and reducing diesel consumption in thermal plants by almost 60% in eight years were highlighted as significant achievements.
Despite these advances, João Baptista Borges stated that the challenges remain enormous, particularly in expanding the energy transmission network to distribute 2 GW available 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 operate under free competition and can sell energy to the public sector through Power Purchase Agreements.
Finally, João Baptista Borges 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 and 90 MW with 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, mainly through solar systems.
Outside the conference, Minister João Baptista 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, who expressed interest in participating in these challenges and proposed quick solutions for sustainable energy transition and the transfer of knowledge and technologies to Angola.
