By: Utilities Middle east

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar has signed its first Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in Angola, securing long-term offtake for the 150-megawatt (MW) Quipungo Solar Photovoltaic project and marking a key step in the company’s expansion across sub-Saharan Africa.

The Quipungo project is the first contracted site under Project Royal Sable, a planned 500MW renewable energy programme spanning three locations that aims to strengthen Angola’s southern power grid and support the country’s sustainable development goals.

The PPA was signed with Angola’s state-owned electricity transmission company, Rede Nacional de Transporte de Electricidade (RNT-EP). The agreement was executed by Abdulaziz Alobadli, Masdar’s Chief Operating Officer, and Mauro Hernany Ferrerira Martins, Executive Director for Market Operations and Regulatory Affairs at RNT-EP.

The signing took place on the sidelines of the IRENA General Assembly during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and was witnessed by senior officials, including H.E. Dr Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, H.E. João Baptista Borges, Angola’s Minister of Energy and Water, and Francesco LaCamera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Located in Huila Province in southern Angola, the 150MW Quipungo Solar PV plant will serve as the commercial anchor for the wider Project Royal Sable portfolio. Once fully developed, the 500MW programme is expected to create more than 2,000 jobs, supply clean electricity to around 300,000 homes and significantly enhance generation capacity in Angola’s southern grid.

Francesco LaCamera said the agreement demonstrated how national energy strategies can be translated into deliverable projects. He noted that the Quipungo PPA, supported through IRENA’s Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) platform, would help strengthen Angola’s power system while improving access to reliable, clean electricity and boosting investor confidence in Africa’s energy transition.

Masdar Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi described the agreement as an important milestone for the company’s African strategy. “Africa is the world’s fastest-growing continent, and that growth will depend on affordable, secure energy,” he said. “Signing our first Power Purchase Agreement in Angola underscores the role that long-term partnerships and structured offtake arrangements play in accelerating utility-scale renewables that support economic development, job creation and national clean energy ambitions.”

Masdar is currently the largest renewable energy operator in Africa through its joint venture, Infinity Power, which has 1.3GW of operational solar and onshore wind assets across South Africa, Egypt and Senegal. The joint venture also has a 13.8GW pipeline of projects, including battery storage and green hydrogen developments, at various stages of progress.

The addition of Project Royal Sable further strengthens Masdar’s African footprint and supports its global target of reaching 100GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.