NYUSI INAGURATES SOLAR POWER STATION

NYUSI INAGURATES SOLAR POWER STATION

Tete (Mozambique), 26 Nov (AIM) – Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Friday inaugurated a solar power station at Chipera, in Maravia district, in the western province of Tete.

The power station can generate up to 100 peak kilowatts (kWp). Annually, it can produce more than 200 megawatt hours, and is able to store up to 600 kilowatt hours. The station cost 87 million meticais (about 1.4 million US dollars, at the current exchange rate) from the Mozambican state budget.

Its network runs for seven kilometres providing power to 200 consumers, including the headquarters of the Chipera administrative post, the local school and health centre, and several economic undertakings and houses. Among the benefits are 82 lampposts for public lighting.

Speaking at the inauguration, Nyusi said that bringing electricity to Chipera was in response to a request made by the residents a long time ago.

“Often, they asked for energy, and now we have brought energy through this photovoltaic system”, he said. “It collects sunlight and turns it into electricity”.

Nyusi stressed the modern technology used by the government’s Energy Fund in expanding access to electricity. He believed the new model will make the electrification of areas outside the national grid more flexible.

Additional value was the borehole for the community’s water, which can be pumped using the new power system.

He urged the Chipera public to protect the system from bush fires which are often deliberately started in order to hunt bush rats, regarded as a delicacy in parts of the country. “We can’t ruin the country because of the rats”, he said.

Currently FUNAE operates 76 photovoltaic systems throughout the country, which are providing electricity for 580 schools, 560 health centres, and 74 offices of administrative posts.
(AIM)
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