In 2012 Cape Verde had an installed electricity generation capacity of around 300 MW, of which about 24% from wind power plants and 3% from photovoltaic stations. While solar power has an enormous potential as a source of renewable energy, natural conditions in Cape Verde are one of the best in the world for the production on wind energy.
Does Cape Verde have solar power?
In 2012 Cape Verde had an installed electricity generation capacity of around 300 MW, of which about 24% from wind power plants and 3% from photovoltaic stations. While solar power has an enormous potential as a source of renewable energy, natural conditions in Cape Verde are one of the best in the world for the production on wind energy.
How can Cape Verde meet its goal of 50% renewables?
Cape Verde can meet its goal of 50% renewables today by integrating energy storage. A 100% Renewable System is achieved from 2026, with a 20 year cost from 68 to 107 M€. Current paradigm doubles emissions in 20 years and costs ranges from 71 to 107 M€. The optimal configuration achieves 90% renewable shares with a cost from 50 to 75 M€.
In the case of Cape Verde, there is one study evaluating the wave energy potential which highlights the resource available, particularly for the northern islands, such as São Vicente . Unfortunately, the study identifies the wave resource to match that of the wind.
Does seasonality characterize the renewable resource of Cape Verde?
All the analysed scenarios until this point rely fundamentally on HPS to deal with the seasonality characterizing the renewable resource of Cape Verde. As aforementioned, the sizing limit has been established based on current estimates of the total resource of the island.
Is Cape Verde a developing state?
The archipelago of Cape Verde is a developing state in West Africa with extreme external energy dependency on refined oil imports despite their available solar and wind resources. Aligned with the global energy transition, the local government established goals in 2011 aiming at 50 and 100% RES.
The recently published Cape Verde Reference System (CVRS) has been used as the baseline for the present study . It details the topology and components of the networks of both Santiago and São Vicente islands, including load and renewable profiles. 2.1. Energy mix, challenges, and future plans