IMAGE: © Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Energy
Two public charging stations were inaugurated in the towns of Pedra Badejo and Calheta, in the eastern coast of Santiago Island, on 17 November and 15 December 2023 respectively. These became the third and fourth localities in the country to be part of the growing public charging network for electric vehicles (EVs) supported by the project.
In Pedra Badejo, the seat of the Santa Cruz municipality, the ceremony was presided over by the Mayor of Santa Cruz, Mr. Carlos Silva, and by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Energy, Mr. Alexandre Monteiro. In his speech, Mayor Silva reiterated Santa Cruz’s firm commitment to electric mobility, highlighted by the four electric taxis in circulation in the municipality, besides approximately 100 electric tuk-tuks that have mostly been adopted for the transportation and sale of produce in a vastly rural municipality where agriculture is the major source of income. Mayor Silva went so far as to describe the town of Pedra Badejo as the “capital of electric mobility in Cabo Verde”, urging other local governments to follow on Santa Cruz footsteps, given the advantages of EVs in a country that is striving for sustainability and energy independence.
The inauguration in Pedra Badejo was a side event to the General Assembly of the Association of Cabo Verdean Municipalities (ANMCV, acronym in Portuguese). In the presence of representatives from most of the country’s 22 municipalities, a presentation on the ProMEC project and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Energy (MICE) strategy for the promotion of electric mobility in the country was delivered by Mr. Carlos Monteiro, the Director of Energy Services at MICE. A special emphasis on the role of local governments on the switch from conventional to electric taxis was included in the presentation, providing concrete figures regarding economic savings for the local authorities, highlighting the existence of favourable rebates for taxis, in addition to fiscal exemptions.
In Calheta, the seat of the São Miguel Municipality, the ceremony was presided over by the Mayor of São Miguel, Mr. Herménio Fernandes, and by the Secretary of State for the Digital Economy, Mr. Pedro Lopes. Mayor Fernandes, who is simultaneously the President of ANMCV, announced during his speech that his municipality will soon launch a tender for five electric taxis.
Earlier, on 10 October 2023, the first fast charging station of the country was inaugurated in the capital city of Praia, near the popular beach of Kebra Canela, by Minister Alexandre Monteiro. The installation, a 50 kW DC charging station, will allow EV users to charge their cars in less than two hours. The inauguration took place while Praia was hosting West Africa’s Energy Transition Week, and event co-organised by MICE and the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), during which, among many other topics, a lively discussion surrounding electric mobility in the region brought together national and regional stakeholders.
Overall, these inaugurations in different locations in the island of Santiago, the largest island in the country and home to more than 50% of the Cabo Verdean population, will serve to diffuse range anxiety issues, provide confidence in an ever-growing e-mobility ecosystem, as well as act as important marketing tools for the promotion of e-mobility across the country. The project and its partners recognise the important role that local governments play in this transition and will strive to include them and provide technical support, as required.
With four of the 40 contractually agreed public charging stations installed, the concessionaire Trações Elétricas de Cabo Verde (TECV) is committed to conclude all installations by the second quarter of 2024, contributing to the establishment of the National Charging Infrastructure foreseen by the Cabo Verdean Government in its Policy Letter for Electric Mobility.
For further information regarding this project, please visit its official website (available in Portuguese): https://www.portalenergia.cv/promec.