CEN

pending

Note: This constitutes an update to the Environment and Social Review Summary (ESRS) following disclosure of the original document in May 2024. The main reason for the update is to capture the changes made to the Transmission Line (T-Line) routing, which are now incorporated into this updated version of the ESRS. Accordingly, documents previously disclosed reflecting the outdated route, have now been replaced with documents that capture the amended T-Line route. Furthermore, the section on BCS determination has been updated.The proposed Namaacha wind Independent Power Producer (IPP) is being developed by Central Eléctrica da Namaacha (CEN), a Special Purpose Vehicle owned by Globeleq Mozambique Renewables Holdings, a subsidiary of Globeleq (GQ or the Lead Sponsor), Source Energia, and Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) (together, the Sponsors). This will be the country’s first wind IPP project. It consists of the development, financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of a 120MW Wind Energy Farm (WEF) located in Namaacha, 57km west of Maputo in Mozambique (the Project). The Project will sell electricity under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to EDM, the state-owned buyer and off taker. EDM will export CEN’s output to the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) until existing generation in Mozambique can no longer meet domestic demand (expected in 2031).The proposed IFC investment includes an IFC A loan of up to US$25 million, a BCFP loan of US$25 million, a B1 loan of up to US$15 million, a KGrid VGF grant of up to US$1 million, and hedging instruments.  The Project will consist of 20 Wind Turbine Generators (WTG) each with a unit capacity of 6MW with a 120m hub height. CEN will evacuate power by way of the Transmission Connection Equipment (TCE) consisting of i) a new T-Line, approximately 42.7km long to be connected to the Boane substation; ii) a 27MVar STATCOM system for voltage stabilization in case of complete WEF tripping; and iii) an upgrade to the Boane substation’s 66kV busbar. The Project’s construction will be undertaken under a Turbine Supply Agreement (TSA) and a Balance of Plant (BoP) contract to be fully wrapped by an interface agreement (together, the EPC Contracts). The selection of the turbine supplier and BoP contractor is expected to be finalized in September 2025. The O&M services will be delivered to CEN under a 25-year Long-Term Service Agreement (LTSA) and a BoP maintenance contract, to be provided by the turbine supplier and GQ Energia Moçambique (GEM), GQ’s subsidiary providing O&M services on GQ-owned assets in Mozambique, respectively. Construction is expected to last 21 months, with the WTGs commissioned after 18 months and the entire WEF (incl. the TCE), 3 months thereafter. The TCE’s construction will fall under the Scope of Work (SoW) of the BoP contractor.  Additional infrastructure will include underground medium voltage transmission cables (33kV) connecting the WTGs with the subordinate substation, a fiber-optic communications network to connect to a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, onsite building infrastructure required for the daily operation of the Project including administrative buildings, a control room, a workshop, a storage warehouse, and a road network to assist the installation of the WTGs during construction and operations. In June 2024, during continued stakeholder consultations for the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), CEN identified sensitivities along the original T-line route, including strategic areas of national interest and inconsistencies with national regulatory requirements. In response, the Project Proponent commissioned an alternatives assessment, resulting in the selection of a revised route (described above). The amended route remains within the same regions and communities. Baseline conditions were confirmed through field visits by a multidisciplinary team. As impacts are equal to or less than those of the original route, no changes to mitigation measures are required. An amendment to the environmental approval has been requested by the Ministry of Land and Environment (MTA) to reflect on the updated route and an Updated Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and a revised Environmental Management Plan (EMP) has been prepared accordingly. A new RAP was completed in April 2025, with details provided in the PS5 section.The two parallel 66 kV T-Lines (spaced 20m apart) will be installed on monopole towers within a 70m corridor for the first 41.4 km and then on a single line within a 50m corridor for 1 km on an existing EDM servitude corridor. In the last 342 meters before reaching the Boane substation, the T-Line will be buried, to avoid physical displacement of peri-urban dwellings. Namaacha is the closest town, the WEF site is located approximately 10km to the north, in the South of Mozambique, near the country’s borders with South Africa and eSwatini. The WEF site is predominantly rural and underdeveloped area of 855.6 Ha, being used mostly for livestock grazing. A provisional land use right, Direito do Uso e Aproveitamento da Terra (DUAT), was granted for CEN in March 2019 by local authorities. A permanent DUAT was granted in Apr-2024 for the WEF. The Project will require physical and economic displacement on both the WEF and the T-Line (please refer to the PS5 section for further details). The Project is located within the Maputaland Coastal Forests and Woodlands, and Limpopo Lowveld ecoregions. It is sited on a plateau and characterized by grassland with scattered trees and shrubs interspersed with patches of forest following drainage routes. It does not overlap with any legally protected areas but is within the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area, approximately 3km from the Namaacha and Hlane - Mlawula Complex Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and overlaps with the Namaacha Tropical Important Plant Area. A wide range of raptor species, including three that are globally threatened, use the airspace over the project and surrounding landscape.