Mauritania is a high regional performer in the race to low-carbon power, with a 38 percent proportion of renewables in its electrical mix and a 50 percent target by 2030.
The country just had a 35 percent renewables target for 2035 not long ago, and its 549 MW total installed capacity may still seem insignificant in comparison to its future development potential of 457.9 GW solar and 47 GW wind power.
The MSGBC country is only now finding the entire extent of its massive natural power reserves, and maximizing them might result in significant increases to its present national electricity access rate of 38.8%, with the goal of reaching 100% by 2030.
Energy Capital & Power has partnered with the country’s Ministry of Petroleum, Energy, and Mines to further this goal and promote its unrivaled work in the west African energy transition ahead of the MSGBC Oil, Gas, and Power Conference in Dakar this September, where the region’s narrative for COP27 and gameplan for green energy deployment will be collaboratively established. In light of this, here are five major green energy initiatives in Mauritania to keep an eye on in the coming year.
AMAN – Green Hydrogen
The $40 billion, 30 GW AMAN project, which will be one of Africa’s largest green hydrogen projects, will be built in the Dakhlet Nouadhibou and Inchiri districts in Mauritania’s northern region. Electrolysis inland will be powered by 18 GW of wind and 12 GW of solar, yielding 10 million tons of green ammonia each year.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between CWP and the Mauritanian government kicked off the project, which was later approved by a framework agreement signed last month. It is predicted to cut national unemployment by a third by 2035, while also increasing the country’s GDP by 50-60% in the same time frame.
NOUR – Green Hydrogen
Project Nour, in collaboration with Chariot (https://bit.ly/3My66mA), aims to build 10 GW with a $3.5 billion investment. The megadevelopment was given the green light by the government in September of last year, and it took another step forward last month with the positive results of pre-feasibility studies.
Chariot also inked an MoU with the Dutch Port of Rotterdam earlier this year for the latter’s building of a new world-leading green ammonia import terminal, which will begin operations in 2026 and take in 600,000 tons of green hydrogen per year from Project Nour. For the Chariot project to reach its final funding decision, a group of backers is currently being sought.
TOUJOUNINE – Solar
Mauritania’s environment is suitable for solar, with an average of seven days of rain per year, and the country’s first big development in the field, Toujounine, on the outskirts of the nation’s capital, did not disappoint in this regard, with 54,000 panels supporting 50 MW of output capacity.
The $53 million plant, which is run by the national electricity company, Société Mauritanienne d’Electricité (Somelec), has been under construction since its inauguration by (then) President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, and is expected to remove an estimated 57,000 tonnes of CO2 per year while supplying 10% of Mauritania’s net energy production. It also serves as a source of local content by holding green energy training programs for students and interns from the area.
KLIMA – Solar
The Klima solar farm builds on Toujounine’s legacy with the German-built Klima application, which funds a 600,000m2 solar farm by aggregating payments from 75,000 users looking to offset their carbon footprints.
This one-of-a-kind Mauritanian development meets 15% of the country’s total energy needs and serves 100,000 people, implying a bright future for energy finance from a three-year-old application. The Klima solar farm was initially unveiled in July 2020, and it has continued to expand and gain support since then as customers from more than 70 nations download the app.
BOULENOUAR – Solar
The Boulenouar Wind Farm, which will be operational in the fourth quarter of this year, will be Mauritania’s largest, with a capacity of 102.4 MW and will take advantage of the country’s 754 kilometers of ideal Atlantic coastline.
It is owned by Somelec and was supposed to open in 2019 but was postponed, with building on the $150 million 39-turbine project starting in 2020. It is 400 kilometers north-west of the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, in the settlement of Boulenouar. The country’s largest wind farm was previously a 30 MW installation in Noukchott.
Looking Forward
Mauritania’s green energy transition has gone a long way, swiftly increasing in accordance with the urgency of the climate problem, from zero renewables in 2008 to a 38 percent electricity mix share today. However, as the country’s demand grows at a 10% annual rate, the country will need to develop more advanced green energy solutions in order to sustain and extend energy access.
The MSGBC Oil, Gas, and Power Conference and Exhibition, which will be hosted by regional neighbor and energy ally Senegal in September, will act as a springboard for such initiatives, while also expanding transnational cooperation beyond gas to other green energy sources like hydroelectric. Case studies will be given in this regard, such as Mauritania’s annual draw of 91 MW from Mali’s Manantali Hydropower Dam.