On Wednesday, April 17, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Angola’s Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, and Angola’s Ambassador, Júlio Maiato, were present at the event.
During a high-level plenary session focused on tripling renewable energy, official statements from the 169 Member States, including the Dominican Republic, Georgia, Iraq, and Rwanda, which presides over the organization, were made, and the executive overview of IRENA was presented.
Júlio Maiato, Angola’s Permanent Representative to IRENA, facilitated the last working session on Wednesday, while João Baptista Borges expressed his satisfaction with Angola’s acceptance for the Vice-Presidency of the 14th Assembly. In his speech, João Baptista Borges highlighted the exponential growth in Angola’s installed electricity production capacity, which increased from 2.4 GW in 2015 to 6.2 GW, with hydropower generation rising from 39% to about 60% and thermal generation declining from 61% to about 36% in 2023.
The minister emphasized that this development was made possible by investments, highlighting the completion of the Laúca Hydroelectric Project, with a capacity of 2 GW, and the ongoing construction of the Caculo-Cabaça Hydroelectric Project. He also highlighted the Energy Sector Action Plan 2023-2027, aligned with the Long-Term Agenda 2050, which aims to diversify the energy mix to incorporate at least 72% renewable energy, including 1.2 GW of solar power by 2027, and achieve an electrification rate of 50%, with an investment of 12 billion US dollars.
Recently, two electrification projects for Eastern and Southern Angola were approved, which will provide access to public grid energy to more than six million inhabitants. The minister also held bilateral meetings with the Minister of Infrastructure and Natural Resources of São Tomé and Príncipe.
