Deal factsCountry: Comoros · Technology: Solar plus storage · Stage: Commissioning · Size: 20 MW / 16 MWh · Value: AED 84.4m · Parties: ADFD, Masdar, Global South Utilities
Comoros president Azali Assoumani has inaugurated three solar plants with a combined capacity of about 20 MW and 16 MWh of battery storage, financed by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) with roughly AED 84.4 million (about US$23 million). The plants, implemented by Abu Dhabi’s Masdar and managed by Global South Utilities (GSU), are located on Grande Comore (12.86 MW), Anjouan (4.05 MW) and Moheli (3.1 MW). Battery systems with 8 MW of output and 16 MWh of capacity serve Grande Comore and Anjouan, and around 30 km of 20 kV medium-voltage overhead lines were built to connect the plants to the island networks.
The three sites are expected to generate about 33.75 GWh of electricity a year, enough for roughly 17,500 households, and to avoid around 20,900 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Masdar says the plants will cover 13.3% of the country’s total electricity demand and 22.5% of its actual generation, a gap that reflects how far supply has trailed need on the islands.
The scale of that shortfall is stark. In 2024 Comoros recorded electricity demand of 254 GWh against actual generation of 150 GWh, suffered around 3,000 power outages, and relied on imported diesel for 91% of its energy mix. Solar with storage therefore displaces expensive fuel imports as well as adding capacity, and the battery systems allow the islands to carry daytime generation into the evening.
President Assoumani said the project translates the partnership with the UAE into action and strengthens the country’s energy infrastructure. Masdar chief executive Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi said that “renewables provide the clearest route to energy security and economic resilience”. The project pairs concessional finance from ADFD with delivery by a state-owned developer and long-term management by GSU, a model the UAE has used to reach small island markets that rarely attract commercial independent power producers.
Why does this matter?
For an island system that imported diesel for 91% of its energy and met only 150 GWh of 254 GWh demand in 2024, 20 MW of solar with storage is a step change. It also shows how concessional Gulf finance paired with a state developer can deliver island grid projects where commercial IPPs rarely go.
What happens next?
GSU will manage the plants as they ramp up towards the projected 33.75 GWh a year. With generation still covering well under half of demand, the remaining gap leaves room for further solar, storage and network investment, and the ADFD-financed model now in operation gives Comoros and its partners a working reference for the next phase.
Sources: Masdar: President of Comoros inaugurates UAE-financed solar plants to strengthen energy security and support sustainable development; TradeArabia: UAE-backed solar plants inaugurated in Comoros to strengthen energy security; GCC Business News: Comoros inaugurates UAE-financed solar plants with 20MW capacity.
More from the pipeline: all commissioned projects · Comoros · the full pipeline map
Leave a Reply