Siemens has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Republic of Madagascar to identify measures for the country’s fast track power generation and to work towards increasing capacity by an additional 300MW by 2019
The agreement was signed together with the project partner TSK group, which will be responsible for the operation and sustainability of the electricity sector and to investigate options to improve efficiency.
Under the agreement, Siemens will be responsible for conducting an assessment of the electrical grid based on the new power generation sources, applying financing concepts to ensure the long-term sustainability of these infrastructure initiatives and creating opportunities for local up skilling and job creation during construction and operation.
“The primary goal of this agreement is to increase national power generating capacity and to connect the local population to the power grid,” said Sabine Dall’Omo, CEO of Siemens for Southern and Eastern Africa.
“A reliable and extensive power supply system is the fundamental prerequisite for economic growth,” Dall’Omo added.
Currently, Madagascar has 676MW of installed generation capacity and the access to electricity has been estimated around 20 per cent. “Opportunities exist to increase the installed capacity through hydropower and explore oil reserves to meet the targets set by government,” said the company in a statement.
Dall’Omo explained, “Improving the country’s energy mix will strengthen the well-established agriculture and mining industry and emerging tourism, textile industries.”
The company further explained that Siemens is planning to install a 44MW aero-derivative gas turbine (SGT-A45) for mobile power generation in Antananarivo. This unit is packaged for rapid deployment and can be installed in less than two weeks. The system is aiming to meet the urgent power needs in the region with less developed infrastructure.
