Wind power in Cape Verde

Representing an investment of US$84 million, the four wind farms will produce between 22.5 and 28 megawatts of power, and the wind farm to be built near Praia will have a wind energy capacity of 10 megawatts.

The four projects – on the islands of Santiago, Sao Vicente, Sal and Boa Vista – are being carried out by Cabeólica, a company made up of the Cape Verdean state, Electra (Cape Verde’s state water and electricity company) and InfraCO, a business entity made up of international donors, including the World Bank.

The projects are part of the Cape Verdean government’s strategy to increase the penetration of renewable energy on the archipelago to 25 percent by 2020 – it currently stands at just 2.3 percent.

By the end of 2011, the government plans to increase the penetration rate to between 3.8 and 4 percent, taking into account that other solar powered projects are underway, implemented by Portugal’s Martifer, which plans to set them up in Santiago and Sal.

As soon as the Martifer projects have been set up, which is expected to happen at the end of 2011, Cape Verde will have installed renewable energy capacity of 35.5 megawatts, which will significantly reduce the archipelago’s dependence on oil and its carbon dioxide emissions.

Recently, the general director of Energia de Cabo Verde, Abraão Lopes, said that for every megawatt of installed capacity the state reduced its oil expenditure by around 272,000 euros, which, multiplied by 35.5 megawatts would theoretically lead to savings of 9.6 million euros in fuel alone.

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