The National Energy Fund (FUNAE) is responsible for providing energy access solutions to the (rural) areas which are far located from the national electricity grid in Mozambique. An important task, considering that the Mozambican government has set the target to realize universal energy access by 2030. The project Renewable Energy for Rural Development, Phase 2 (RERD2+) of Enabel aims to support FUNAE in the development and operation of sustainable energy services in rural areas. One of the project's primary result areas is increasing energy infrastructure, and in coordination with FUNAE, the construction of 5 mini-grids powered by solar panels and batteries in the provinces of Zambézia and Nampula, were agreed upon.

Mini-grids are a long-term project characterized by an extensive preparatory phase. Because Mozambique is still developing a national "energy access plan", determining which areas are considered to be electrified by the national grid and which areas by stand-alone mini-grids (Enabel also supports the planning division of FUNAE in the development of these plans), FUNAE and Enabel had to conduct more than 20 socio-economic feasibility studies in the communities of rural Zambézia and Nampula to verify if the technical conditions are present for the realization of a mini-grid and to collect demographic and economic data for the sizing of the mini-grid. Based on these studies, 5 sites were selected to realize mini-grids. Because of the technical complexity of these (hybrid) mini-grids, the public procurement for the design and construction of the mini-grids followed a lengthy process to allow the Project Implementation Unit (FUNAE and Enabel) to negotiate, within the parameters of the applicable legislation, the most appropriate design and adequate technology for the reality in Mozambique. The negotiations allowed for a preliminary quality assurance of the technical proposals, as it was the first time Mozambique would be building hybrid mini grids of this calibre. The contracts were awarded to two construction consortias, which included international and national firms.  

Another critical step in the preparations for the mini-grid projects was the selection of the beneficiaries in the 5 communities. Because of budget constraints, FUNAE and Enabel decided to continue constructing 5 mini-grids but to only connect ca. 40% of the target population in the first phase. Priority was given to beneficiaries with a social function,such as the local hospital and schools, and beneficiaries who can create economic value in the community, like shops and artisans. The community selected the remaining beneficiaries, thus households and families of the project, based on some technical indications shared by FUNAE. This increased the awareness and support in the communities for the project and resulted in an excellent socio-economic mix of families, which will be initially connected to the mini-grid. After the work of the community, a team of FUNAE, Enabel and the contractors collected all the data of the beneficiaries on the field, using tablets and a digital survey developed by the Project Implementation Unit (Enabel and FUNAE staff). To ensure that more beneficiaries can be connected in a later stage, the project already imposed some technical measures during the design of the mini-grids. For example, a bigger plot to install additional solar panels, a powerhouse with extra capacity and an electrical grid that already covers a big part of the community.  

After this long preparatory phase, the construction of the mini-grids has started. On all 5 sites, the civil works have been initiated and the containers with batteries have arrived. Recently, FUNAE and Enabel engineers were together with the supervisor, who guarantees the daily monitoring of the works, on the field to inspect the delivered containers and evaluate the quality of the executed works. The completion of the 5 mini-grids is expected between the last quarter of 2023 and first quarter of 2024.

The work does not stop after the construction of the mini-grids. It is vital to work on the stimulation of productive use of energy and business development, to improve the sustainability of the mini-grid operations and the overall development of the communities. This can be done by introducing specific electrical equipment in the communities, like energy-efficient electrical corn mills, and setting up financial structures to allow the people in the communities to buy this equipment. This part of the project will be initiated by the team of RERD2, and elaborated more specifically as part of the new portfolio in Mozambique for 2023-2028. This way, Enabel establishes continuity in its projects on the field and in its engagement to support Mozambique in climate change mitigation and energy transition.

To read more on the portfolio, click here:https://www.enabel.be/brochure-belgium-mozambique-cooperation-programme-2023-2028/

By: Arn Jonkers and Riccardo del Citto