The Ministry of Energy and Water of the Republic of Angola has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Middle East-headquartered industrial group, Privinvest, to introduce hydrokinetic power generation to the country over the next decade.
Under the MoU, Empresa Publica de Producao de Electricidade (Prodel) and Privinvest have committed to the creation of a joint venture company in Angola.
It will be initially tasked with the manufacturing and operation of hydrokinetic farms in Angola, while the workload will be split between Angola and France.
The affiliates of Privinvest, CMN and HydroQuest, design and manufacture hydrokinetic turbines for use in both rivers and the sea.
Prodel has agreed to purchase all the electrical output of the venture in Angola, Privinvest informed.
Operations are expected to commence with the commissioning of 3 test sites, which will have a combined anticipated production output of at least 12MW. The first site is expected to be online in 2017.
Palomar Capital Advisers, affiliated to Privinvest, is mandated by the Government of Angola to structure the project financing. This financing will be guaranteed by the Republic of Angola, according to Privinvest.
Pierre Balmer , Chairman of CMN, said: “We are delighted that CMN’sproven manufacturing expertise will be leading on this exciting project. It is a technology that has the potential to revolutionise the energy supply market for Africa and beyond.”
Jean-Francois Simon , Chairman of Hydroquest, added: “The world is crying out for clean energy and with this project the Republic of Angola and Privinvest will be using this ground breaking technology.”
The initiative is in line with the Republic of Angola’s 2025 Energy Security Plan, under which the country stated its aim to achieve 9GW of production by 2025, with particular priorities for hydrokinetic power generation.