Cape Verde has very little capacity for producing its own energy as it has no fossil fuel resources and has a high dependency on imported fuels. The country is addressing this need by building wind farms, as it is one of 15 countries identified as having the best wind resource in Africa. The Monte Sao Filipe wind farm in the city of Praia is due to be operational in August, according to Cape Verde's director-general for energy.
Apparently essential parts for assembling the wind farm, representing an investment of €16 million, are already in the country, and once operational it should provide about 25% of the country’s power production. This equates to around 110 GW of power every year with an installed capacity of 10 MW. The wind farm is being funded by the government, African Development Bank, the European Investment bank, Finnfund, Infraco and Electra.
Renewable energy projects in Cape Verde include building similar wind farms on the island of Boa Vista, Sal and Sao Vicente. Overall, €63 million will be invested in wind farms, providing a total capacity of 28 MW.
Cape Verde actually has a good capacity for renewable energy, both wind and solar, with specialists suggesting that a small energy farms spread all over the country would be more effective, as transportation and distribution costs between islands could be high because the islands are not electrically interconnected. The electricity demands of the islands have been steadily growing alongside tourism, and considerable growth is expected during the coming years with more planned developments taking place, and better infrastructure.
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