Moxico Leste, Angola, May 5, 2026 (Lusa) - Angola’s government has said that the Luau Photovoltaic Solar farm, inaugurated on Monday, is a key element for the Lobito Corridor and that the infrastructure represents progress, inclusion, sustainable development and hope.
According to Angola’s energy and water minister, João Baptista Borges, the solar farm inaugurated by Angola's president, João Lourenço, is a structural, modern and transformative project within the framework of the National Electrification Strategy.
"This project represents far more than the installation of solar panels; it represents progress, inclusion, sustainable development and hope," he said at the inauguration ceremony of the farm, located in Moxico Leste province.
He also said that the inauguration of the solar farm, which comprises 54,912 panels designed to power 20,573 homes and benefit 94,000 residents across the province’s municipalities, reflects a clear government strategy, "which is to deliver energy in a technically, economically and environmentally sustainable way to populations and territories," he added.
He also said that, for years, rural areas in Angola have faced significant challenges in accessing energy, with a lack of electricity limiting opportunities, stalling economic growth, and hindering access to essential services.
According to him, with the inauguration of the solar farm, Angola is taking a decisive step to change that situation.
"This solar farm is a concrete expression of public policy focused on results, social and territorial inclusion, and improving people’s living conditions," he said.
Baptista Borges also said that the solar farm is proof that Angola’s energy future can and should be built on clean, renewable and affordable sources, adding that in Luau, where sunlight is abundant, a natural resource has been transformed into energy, development, and dignity.
Covering an area of 60 hectares, with an installed capacity of 31.85 megawatts and a storage capacity of 79 megawatts, the Luau farm is part of the Angola Energy 2025 project, which includes the electrification of 60 rural localities in the provinces of Bié, Malanje, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Moxico and Moxico Leste, by 2027.
According to the authorities, it is one of the largest public renewable energy programmes in sub-Saharan Africa, implemented by the MCA Group and financed by Standard Chartered Bank and Euler Hermes, with a total investment of €1.027 billion.
Additionally, the electrification of Luau, a municipality situated more than 1,300 kilometres from Luanda on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is not merely a local investment, he said.
"It is a key element for the success of the Lobito Corridor," he concluded, adding that with the solar farm, Luau, which forms part of the Lobito Corridor railway network, becomes a point of strength and the Corridor gains competitiveness, sustainability and real impact.
Meanwhile, the governor of Moxico Leste, Crispiniano dos Santos, said the inauguration of the Luau Photovoltaic Solar Farm represented a firm, secure and irreversible step towards Angola’s balanced development.
DAS/MYAL // ADB.
Lusa
