Ambatolampy Solar Power Station

The Ambatolampy Solar Power Station is a 40 MW solar power plant in Madagascar. As of April 2022, it was the first grid-connected, privately-funded solar power plant in the country.[1] The power plant, which was first commissioned in 2018, underwent expansion from 20 MW to 40 MW, between 2021 and 2022. The off-taker of the energy generated at this renewable energy power plant is Jirama, the national electricity utility company.[2][3]

Ambatolampy Solar Power Station
Official nameAmbatolampy Solar Power Plant
CountryMadagascar
LocationAmbatolampy, Vakinankaratra Region
Coordinates19°24′26″S 47°25′46″E
StatusOperational
Commission date2018
Owner(s)Ambatolampy Solar Consortium
Operator(s)Ambatolampy Solar Consortium
Solar farm
TypeFlat-panel PV
Power generation
Nameplate capacity40 MW (54,000 hp)

Location

The power station is located in the town of Ambatolampy, in the Vakinankaratra Region of Madagascar. Ambatolampy is located approximately 98 kilometres (61 mi) by road, northeast of Antsirabe, the regional capital city.[4] This is approximately 73 kilometres (45 mi) by road, south of Antananarivo, the country's capital and largest city.[5]

Overview

Madagascar had installed generation capacity of 969 megawatts as of 2021. Only 2 percent was sourced from solar energy, with the rest sourced from fossil fuel sources. Ambatolampy Solar Power Station is the first and at that time was the largest grid-connected solar power plant in the country. It represents the initial efforts to diversify the country's generation mix.[2]

Ownership

The power station is owned by a consortium comprising (a) GreenYellow, a French IPP and a member of the Casino Group and (b) the Axian Group, a Madagascan investment conglomerate. The owners/developers have established a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company to own, develop, fund, build, operate and maintain the power station. For descriptive purposes, we will call the SPV company Ambatolampy Solar Consortium. The table below, illustrates the shareholding in Ambatolampy Solar Consortium.[6]


Shareholding in Ambatolampy Solar Consortium
RankShareholderDomicilePercentageNotes
1Axian GroupMadagascar
51.0
[6]
2GreenYellowFrance
49.0
[6]
Total
100.0

Expansion

The original power station with generation capacity of 20 megawatts, was commercially commissioned in 2021. That phase of development received funding from (a) Société Générale (b) GuarantCo (a subsidiary of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) (c) Banque Malgache de L’ocean Indien (BMOI) and (d) Banque Nationale d'Investissement (BNI) (National Investment Bank) of Madagascar.[2]

Beginning in June 2021, the developers/owners of the power station began the expansion of the solar farm from 20 MW to 40 MW in generation capacity. This phase included the addition of a 5MW/5MWh battery storage system to stabilize the national electricity grid. This phase cost €17 million (US$$20.33 million) and received funding from (a) Société Générale (b) GuarantCo and (c) the African Guarantee Fund.[2][3][7]

See also

References
  1. Aera Group France (2019). "Support the largest solar PV plant in Madagascar". Aera-Group.fr. Paris, France. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  2. Theresa Smith (17 June 2021). "Madagascar: Ambatolampy solar plant to be expanded". ESI-Africa. Cape Town South Africa. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  3. Sangita Shetty (21 April 2022). "GreenYellow Completes the Extension of Madagascar's Ambatolampy Solar Plant". Solar Quarter. Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  4. Google (23 April 2022). "Road Distance Between Ambatolampy, Madagascar And Antsirabe, Madagascar With Map" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  5. Google (23 April 2022). "Road Distance Between Ambatolampy, Madagascar And Antananarivo, Madagascar With Map" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  6. Jean Marie Takouleu (18 April 2022). "Madagascar: GreenYellow completes the extension of the Ambatolampy solar power plant". Afrik21.africa. Paris, France. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  7. Power Engineering International (18 June 2021). "Madagascar expands solar plant with 20MW and battery storage". Powerengineeringint.com. Maarssen, The Netherlands. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
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