Ambatolampy Solar Power Station
{{Short description|Solar farm in Madagascar}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox power station
| name = Ambatolampy Solar Power Station
| name_official = Ambatolampy Solar Power Plant
| image =
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| country = Madagascar
| coordinates = {{coord|19|24|26|S|47|25|46|E|region:MG|display=inline, title}}
| location = Ambatolampy, Vakinankaratra Region
| status = O
| construction_began =
| commissioned = 2018
| decommissioned =
| cost =
| owner = Ambatolampy Solar Consortium
| operator = Ambatolampy Solar Consortium
| solar_type = PV
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| ps_electrical_capacity = {{convert|40|MW|abbr=on}}
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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.{{cite web|url=https://aera-group.fr/en/portfolio/ambatolompy-solar-mauritius |title=Support the largest solar PV plant in Madagascar |work=Aera-Group.fr |
date=2019 |author=Aera Group France |access-date=23 April 2022 | location=Paris, France}} 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 power generated at this renewable energy power plant is Jirama, the national electricity utility company.{{cite web| url=https://www.esi-africa.com/industry-sectors/finance-and-policy/madagascar-ambatolampy-solar-plant-to-be-expanded/ | title=Madagascar: Ambatolampy solar plant to be expanded |
work=ESI-Africa |date=17 June 2021 |author=Theresa Smith | access-date=23 April 2022 |location=Cape Town South Africa}}{{cite web| work=Solar Quarter | url=https://solarquarter.com/2022/04/21/greenyellow-completes-the-extension-of-madagascars-ambatolampy-solar-plant/ | title=GreenYellow Completes the Extension of Madagascar’s Ambatolampy Solar Plant |date=21 April 2022 | author=Sangita Shetty |access-date=23 April 2022 | location=Mumbai, Maharashtra, India}}
Location
The power station is located in the town of Ambatolampy, in the Vakinankaratra Region of Madagascar. Ambatolampy is located approximately {{convert|98|km|0}} by road, northeast of Antsirabe, the regional capital city.{{google maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Ambatolampy,+Madagascar/Antsirabe,+Madagascar/@-19.6283065,46.95408,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x21faa9c5b1911791:0xa21fbfe6eaceb529!2m2!1d47.4392352!2d-19.3836846!1m5!1m1!1s0x21e50ef0d3abe42d:0xec5cb6c1e49c837e!2m2!1d47.0291162!2d-19.8730077!3e0 |title=Road Distance Between Ambatolampy, Madagascar And Antsirabe, Madagascar With Map | access-date=23 April 2022}} This is approximately {{convert|73|km|0}} by road, south of Antananarivo, the country's capital and largest city.{{google maps| url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Ambatolampy,+Madagascar/Antananarivo,+Madagascar/@-19.1316151,47.2149621,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x21faa9c5b1911791:0xa21fbfe6eaceb529!2m2!1d47.4392352!2d-19.3836846!1m5!1m1!1s0x21f07de34f1f4eb3:0xdf110608bcc082f9!2m2!1d47.5079055!2d-18.8791902!3e0 |title=Road Distance Between Ambatolampy, Madagascar And Antananarivo, Madagascar With Map |access-date=23 April 2022}}
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.
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.{{cite web| date=18 April 2022 | url=https://www.afrik21.africa/en/madagascar-greenyellow-completes-the-extension-of-the-ambatolampy-solar-power-plant/ | work=Afrik21.africa |title=Madagascar: GreenYellow completes the extension of the Ambatolampy solar power plant |author=Jean Marie Takouleu |access-date=23 April 2022 |location=Paris, France}}
In February 2024, Axian Group acquired the 49 percent shareholding in this power station previously owned by GreenYellow. Axian now owns 100 percent of project's stock shares.{{cite web|url=https://www.afrik21.africa/en/solar-energy-french-ipp-greenyellow-sells-its-madagascar-and-burkina-faso-assets/ |
title=Solar energy: French IPP GreenYellow sells its Madagascar and Burkina Faso assets |work=Afrik21.africa |date=7 February 2024 | author=Jean Marie Takouleu |access-date=8 February 2024 | location=Paris, France}}
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'Océan Indien (BMOI) and (d) Banque Nationale d'Investissement (BNI) (National Investment Bank) of Madagascar.
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.{{cite web|work=Powerengineeringint.com | url=https://www.powerengineeringint.com/solar/madagascar-expands-solar-plant-with-20mw-and-battery-storage/ |title=Madagascar expands solar plant with 20MW and battery storage |date=18 June 2021 |author=Power Engineering International |access-date=23 April 2022 |location=Maarssen, The Netherlands}}
See also
{{stack|{{Portal|Madagascar|Renewable energy}}}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.afrik21.africa/en/madagascar-extension-works-for-the-ambatolampy-solar-power-plant-are-launched/ Madagascar: Extension works for the Ambatolampy solar power plant are launched] As of 21 June 2021.
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Category:Solar power stations in Madagascar
Category:2018 establishments in Madagascar