[2021-09-15] Chinese-made solar panels set to produce power in Mozambique

Source: Macauhub

The biggest solar farm in Mozambique, in the northern town of Metoro, will begin generating electricity by next January, Lusa reports.

The Portuguese news agency says the solar farm cost 47.3 million euros (about US$55.8 million) to build.

The farm will have 125,000 solar panels, made in China, which will give it a generating capacity of 69 gigawatts per hour, enough for the needs of three-quarters of the people of the nearby city of Pemba, the report says.

It quotes Dinis Vilankulos, an executive of French company Neoen, as saying shutdowns of Chinese factories due to the COVID-19 pandemic delayed completion of the farm.

The report says the builders employ 426 people, and that the operators will employ 32.

Mozambican Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Ernesto Tonela has voiced hope that the electricity generated will allow the creation of even more jobs in that part of the country, Lusa says.