The off-grid solar project, encompassing 31.85 MW of solar connected to 75.26 MWh of battery energy storage, will supply energy to over 90,000 people in eastern Angola.

May 6, 2026
Patrick Jowett

Portuguese group MCA has inaugurated a 31.85 MW off-grid solar park tied to 75.26 MWh of battery energy storage in Angola.

The Luau photovoltaic park is now the largest off-grid solar park in Africa, surpassing the record previously set by MCA’s Cazombo solar park, also in Angola, which came online late last year.

The project was designed and built by MCA with Angolan state-owned electricity production company, PRODEL Ep, acting as project developer. Its production capacity is enough to supply energy to more than 90,000 people in the area, while its battery bank also ensures night time supply and completely eliminates the need for any fossil fuel, a statement from MCA explains.

The solar park is located in eastern Angola on the Lobito Corridor, a railway and logistics infrastructure project aiming to connect the Port of Lobito on Angola’s western coastline to its neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia in the east.

Valued at €87 million ($102 million), MCA says the project attracted significant European investment due its strategic position near the border with DRC. Financing was structured by the British Standard Chartered Bank with the support of the German Export Agency, which provided a guarantee of around €1 billion, reinsured by the Portuguese and Korean Export Agencies.

The Luau and Cazombo solar parks both form part of Angola’s Rural Electrification Project, a government initiative planning to implement 46 autonomous minigrids powered by solar parks. The project is aiming to reach over one million people spanning 60 communes in Angola.

MCA Chairman, Manuel Couto Alves, says the project “represents a commitment to communities that, for decades, have lived without access to energy.”

“The completion of the Cazombo and Luau parks marks just the beginning of a structural and ambitious programme, which will continue to expand in the coming years,” he added. “We will continue to work, side by side with the communities, to ensure that electrification reaches where it makes the most difference.”

The Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA) has identified 467.8 MW of operational solar in Angola, according to figures available in its project database.

In January, Abu Dhabi-based developer Masdar signed a 150 MW solar power purchase agreement in Angola, marking the first phase of a 500 MW multi-site project.

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