PRAIA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The African Development Bank (AfDB) announced on Monday that it has approved 19.6 million euros in financing to support Phase II of the Cabeolica expansion project in Cape Verde.
"This project is the country's first renewable energy initiative to combine large-scale wind power generation with battery energy storage systems," the AfDB said in a statement.
According to the same source, the funding package includes "a loan of approximately 12.6 million euros from the African Development Bank and 7 million euros in concessional financing from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa."
The original Cabeolica project was inaugurated in 2012. Phase II will add 13.5 megawatts of wind generation capacity and 26 megawatt-hours of grid-connected battery energy storage.
"The expansion is expected to generate more than 60 gigawatt-hours of clean energy annually, eliminating costly thermal generation and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by around 50,000 tons per year," the statement noted.
The Cabeolica project contributes to Cape Verde's goal of generating 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. ■