Japan has granted a loan of €60 million to Cape Verde in order to help modernise the power distribution grids. The project will increase the capacity, transmission and distribution for six of the islands which are Sao Vicente, Fogo, Santo Antao, Sal, and Maio. The project should increase access to electricity on these islands, as well as modernising the electricity grids.
The project is also being co-funded by the African Development Bank and the Cape Verdean government. It is the second such agreement between Cape Verde and Japan, as the first was signed in 2008 to increase the capacity of the Palmarejo power plant, and to complete a transmission line to the interior of Santiago Island. Japan gives development aid to Cape Verde annually, and has done so since its independence.
Although Cape Verde only has limited resources, it does have considerable capacity for producing renewable energy, and is pursuing this aim with some vigour. Recently a new solar photovoltaic micro-grid was commissioned for the island of Santo Antao which is being financed by a local private water company and the ACP-EU Energy Facility programme.
It will provide energy for 60 homes in a community that is only accessible by boat. The community is totally dependent on fishing, and needs ice to help preserve the fish. At the moment it's a five-hour boat trip to get the ice, which is a highly inefficient process. The solar plant will give power to a school, a health centre, a church, and a kindergarten, as well as three general stores and 22 streetlights. As Cape Verde becomes more modernised, such schemes are likely to become more frequent
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