The Government of Mozambique, through its Energy Regulatory Authority (ARENE), has officially relaunched the prequalification tender to select a private developer for the 30 MWac Dondo solar project in the Sofala province. The project had initially been awarded to Total Eren in 2022 before acquisition by TotalEnergies.
The Dondo solar project is essential for the advancement of the Renewable Energy Auction Promotion Program (PROLER), the country’s programme for structured, transparent, and competitive public bidding of renewable energy projects.
PROLER was launched in September 2020 by the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME) in partnership with the European Union and the French Development Agency (AFD).
French developer Total Eren—then a subsidiary of TotalEnergies before merging with its parent entity—won the tender in 2022 to own, design, develop, finance, build, operate, and maintain the Dondo solar power project. However, the project faced implementation delays, prompting the government to retender it as part of broader efforts to reboot the Renewable Energy Auction Promotion Program (PROLER).
PROLER handles much of the upfront project preparation to reduce investor risk. The program targets the development of approximately 120 MW to 160 MW of utility-scale renewable capacity across four strategically selected grid interconnection sites.
To support this goal, PROLER integrates a robust de-risking framework through a three-pronged approach:
- Feasibility and site assessment: The program pre-develops sites, addressing technical, environmental, and social hurdles before inviting private developers to bid.
- Offtake and grid subsidies: The state-owned utility, Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), acts as the guaranteed offtaker through long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).
- Institutional alignment: Financial backing helps subsidize grid interconnection infrastructure and funds EDM’s potential equity participation in the projects.
Dondo solar project key to Mozambique’s SAPP objectives
The Dondo solar power project stalled during the pre-construction phase due to global pandemic supply chain shocks, protracted grid-interconnection negotiations with EDM, and a major corporate restructuring when TotalEnergies fully acquired Total Eren in 2023. These hurdles created a commercial deadlock, ultimately preventing the project from achieving financial close and necessitating a contractual reset.
The project is now re-engineered to bypass past infrastructure and regulatory bottlenecks. The relaunched 2026 tender reflects Mozambique’s urgent mandate to diversify its generation mix and strengthen grid stability within the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).
Through utilisation of standardised concession frameworks and pre-negotiated technical grid parameters established during the first development cycle, ARENE is targeting institutional investors with deep technical and financial capacity. Once operational, the Dondo facility will act as a blueprint for subsequent PROLER auction phases, which include planned solar and wind assets across Tete, Niassa, and Inhambane provinces.
Interested bidders can obtain the full pre-qualification documents and related information either in person at ARENE’s offices (see address above) from Monday to Friday during regular business hours, or by sending an email to: concurso-proler@arene.org.mz.
Link to tender here.
