Abu Dhabi–based renewable energy developer Masdar has signed a power purchase agreement for a 150-megawatt solar power project in Angola, marking a new addition to the country’s utility-scale generation pipeline.
The agreement was signed with Rede Nacional de Transporte de Electricidade (RNT), Angola’s state-owned electricity transmission company, which is responsible for managing and operating the national transmission grid.
The deal provides for long-term electricity offtake, giving the project revenue certainty and enabling construction to proceed.
The 150MW plant, known as Quipungo, forms the first phase of Project Royal Sable, a broader 500MW solar programme planned across three sites in southern Angola. The wider programme is intended to expand generation capacity in regions where grid supply remains limited and uneven.
Quipungo will be developed in Huila Province, an area that has historically faced constraints in power availability despite growing demand from households, public services, and local industry. The project is expected to feed electricity directly into the national transmission system, rather than operating as an isolated or captive facility.
Masdar, which is wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi government, has expanded its footprint across African power markets in recent years through utility-scale solar and wind projects. In Angola, the company’s involvement adds a foreign developer with access to international financing and project delivery experience to a power sector that remains dominated by state-owned infrastructure.
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The transaction received support from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) through its Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) programme. The facility is designed to help de-risk large-scale renewable energy projects in emerging markets by mobilising concessional finance and institutional capital.
For Angola, the project reflects a continued effort to diversify its power mix and reduce dependence on hydropower, which still accounts for the majority of installed capacity but remains vulnerable to rainfall variability. While solar remains a small share of total generation today, utility-scale projects such as Quipungo are gradually increasing its role within the system.
RNT’s participation places the project squarely within the national grid framework, rather than outside it. The transmission operator has been tasked with integrating new generation capacity as Angola expands electrification and upgrades aging infrastructure.
The signing of the PPA represents a procedural milestone rather than a completion point. Construction timelines, grid connection works, and financing arrangements will determine how quickly the project moves from contract to generation.
If delivered as planned, Quipungo will become one of the larger solar installations connected to Angola’s grid to date, and the first operational phase of a programme intended to scale further over time.
By Thuita Gatero, Managing Editor, Africa Digest News. He specializes in conversations around data centers, AI, cloud infrastructure, and energy.
