African power company NCodezi Energy has started a feasibility study on the market for hybrid solar storage systems in Mozambique. According to the company, the objective of this feasibility study is to determine if the city of Tete is a viable location for a solar project and a battery energy storage system (BESS) with a maximum generating capacity of 300 MW.
In 2019, NCodezi signed an agreement with Chinese engineering firm China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) to jointly develop a coal-fired power station. Currently working on the aforementioned projects, Ncondezi is exploring clean coal-free energy.
The study, led by engineering services provider WSP, will examine the feasibility of developing the project at one of three suitable sites that Ncondezi has already selected. The Ncondezi mine covers more than 25,000 hectares and can support more than 5GW of solar photovoltaic power generation, including all locations.
The feasibility study will evaluate the land on the basis of a modular design, investigating the potential of 30 MW, 60 MW, 100 MW, 200 MW and 300 MW scale PV development projects. Each site has the potential to support up to 500 megawatts of solar PV.
According to Ncondezi, the potential project will leverage "existing advanced stage development work" associated with a 300-megawatt thermal power plant that could be "simply transferred to a solar project".
Ncondezi hopes to export electricity to Mozambique’s power system by 2024, six to 12 months earlier than other feasible options.
The proposal for a solar project comes a year after NCodezi Energy's renewable energy business, NCodezi Green Power, signed a joint venture agreement with South Africa's EPC NESA to target South Africa's C&I solar and battery energy storage systems industries.
