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Sal Island

Current status, energy mix, organizations, suppliers, equipment, controls, reported specifications, and project updates—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations10
System facts18
Sources reviewed17
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

Sal's island grid has evolved well beyond the legacy solar-wind-diesel snapshot. The two cornerstone projects are the 2.5 MWp fixed-tilt Martifer solar plant commissioned in October 2010 and Cabeólica's 7.65 MW wind farm—nine Vestas V52-850 kW turbines commercially operating since 2012. Cabeólica added a 6 MW/6 MWh BESS at its Sal wind-farm interconnection and inaugurated it on February 11, 2026. A separate 6 MWp Santa Maria solar plant also began operation in 2024. Thermal generation and the exact island-wide annual mix remain incompletely disclosed in current public data, so these capacities should not be converted into an unsupported renewable percentage.

Research status
Operational and expanded. Cabeólica's 2024 audited/annual reporting recorded 18,649 MWh from the Sal wind farm, 95.17% availability, and an estimated 23% island penetration. Vestas' maintenance agreement was extended eight years in 2024, although Sal substation repairs were required. The new 6 MW/6 MWh BESS was inaugurated in February 2026 with WinPower as EPC. Current public material expects wind, the new battery and the 2024 solar addition to push Sal above 40% renewable penetration, but no complete 2025/26 island generation table was found to verify that forecast.
Historical classification
Island
Reported capacity
See component specifications
Coordinates
16.72662, -22.92971
Evidence note: “Every company” cannot be proven from public material alone. This page lists every organization found in the recovered record and reviewed sources, preserves unknown roles, and explicitly marks undisclosed controller or equipment details.
Report missing evidenceResearch methodology

Project delivery

Who was involved in Sal Island?

10 publicly identified organizations. Where a recovered source named a participant without explaining its work, the role remains explicitly unspecified.

Organization

African Development Bank / Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa / European Investment Bank

Long-term lenders/financiers for Cabeólica and its Phase II wind-and-storage expansion. [9][5][12]

Organization

Águas de Ponta Preta / Impulso Energía

Developer/operator of the separate 6 MWp Santa Maria PV plant commissioned on Sal in 2024; not owner of the older Martifer plant or Cabeólica wind farm. [15]

Organization

Cabeólica S.A.

Independent power producer, owner/operator of Sal's 7.65 MW wind farm and 6 MW/6 MWh BESS under Cabo Verde's renewable-energy PPP structure. [2][4][12]

Organization

ELECTRA SARL / Electra S.A.

Island utility, grid/system operator, original partner/offtaker for Cabeólica, and operator/beneficiary of the Sal generation system. [3][4]

Organization

Government of Cabo Verde

Original project counterparty/PPP shareholder and policy partner for wind, solar and storage development. [3][17][12]

Organization

InfraCo Africa / Africa Finance Corporation / Finnfund

Development and shareholder/finance participants in Cabeólica across successive ownership periods; AFC also provided bridge financing for Phase II. [3][9][12]

Organization

Martifer

Publicly named participant; role not specified in the recovered record [1]

Organization

Martifer Solar

Turnkey developer and equipment supplier for the original 2.5 MWp Sal solar PV plant. [6][7]

Organization

Vestas

Wind-turbine supplier and long-term maintenance provider; service agreement extended by eight years in 2024. [4][5]

Organization

WinPower S.A.

Turnkey EPC contractor for Sal's 6 MW/6 MWh BESS, including engineering, procurement, construction, auxiliaries and local EMS integration. [13][14]

System evidence

Energy mix, capacity, and specifications

Values can describe different project phases, generation sources, storage systems, or other components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

KW Solar
2500 [1]
KW Wind
7650 [1]
Original Sal solar plant
2.5 MWp fixed-tilt PV on approximately 9.75-10 hectares, commissioned October 1, 2010, with 11,016 modules and an original expected annual output of about 3,960 MWh. A planned option to expand to 5 MWp by 2014 was not substantiated as built. [6][7][8]
Cabeólica Sal wind farm
7.65 MW from nine 850 kW turbines, occupying about 32 hectares at Lajedo de Ribeira de Tarrafe. Test injection began before end-2011 and the takeover certificate was signed February 17, 2012. [2][3][4]
2024 wind performance
18,649 MWh generated, 95.17% availability and estimated 23% penetration on Sal. Wind speed was below average and unscheduled intervention included repairs at the Sal substation. [4]
Sal battery
6 MW/6 MWh guaranteed capacity (one-hour duration), connected near the wind farm to the 20 kV busbar and equipped with a local EMS. Earlier environmental material used approximately 8 MW/8 MWh, but final finance, EPC and commissioning sources converge on 6 MW/6 MWh. [10][14][12]
Santa Maria solar addition
6 MWp PV inaugurated in September 2024 by Águas de Ponta Preta/Impulso Energía. Some later summaries call it 5 MW; the inauguration reporting gives 6 MWp and is retained as the plant nameplate. [15][16]
Energy mix
Wind, solar PV, battery storage and fuel-fired thermal generation on a non-interconnected island grid. Cabeólica's wind alone supplied an estimated 23% in 2024. A current complete island fuel/solar/wind/storage generation table was not located, so the post-BESS renewable share above 40% remains a forecast. [4][16]

Controls and hardware

Equipment and controller details

Manufacturer and model are shown only when a source names them. Generic descriptions are not converted into guessed product assignments.

01

Wind turbines

Vestas — V52-850 kW

Nine turbines, 7.65 MW total. Vestas remains the maintenance provider under an agreement extended eight years in 2024. [4][5]

02

Original PV modules

Martifer Solar

11,016 modules manufactured at Martifer's Oliveira de Frades factory and installed on fixed structures. A later academic source calls them polycrystalline; exact model and inverter manufacturer were not found. [7][8]

03

Battery energy storage

Model not publicly disclosed

6 MW/6 MWh system delivered as a turnkey installation. Public commissioning sources do not identify cell manufacturer, chemistry, PCS model, container count or degradation warranty. [12][13]

04

BESS EPC and control

WinPower S.A.

Engineering, procurement, construction, auxiliary systems and a local Energy Management System, injecting at the wind farm's 20 kV busbar. [14][13]

Technical record

Architecture, performance, and project updates

Concise technical facts, milestones, operating results, and later developments. Dated notes distinguish historical design claims from current evidence.

  • Generation

    PV, wind, diesel [1]

  • Wind project structure

    Sal is one of four separately located Cabeólica wind farms developed and financed together under a PPP/IPP structure, with ELECTRA as system counterpart/offtaker. The Sal farm is a distinct 7.65 MW asset, not the entire 25.5 MW national portfolio. [3][17]

  • Battery grid services

    The 6 MW/6 MWh BESS is intended for frequency response/regulation, energy-imbalance management, automatic generation control, spinning/replacement reserve, reactive power and voltage support, while reducing renewable curtailment. [10][11]

  • Performance history

    Cabeólica's 2017 sustainability report gave Sal 28% wind penetration and 99% turbine availability; its 2024 report gives 23% penetration and 95.17% availability. The different years show why early headline percentages should not be treated as fixed current mix. [5][4]

  • Phase II status

    AfDB approved a €19.6 million financing package in June 2025 for the wider 13.5 MW wind/26 MWh storage program. Sal's 6 MW/6 MWh BESS was inaugurated February 11, 2026, and WinPower subsequently confirmed delivery as EPC contractor. [9][12][13]

  • Current-data gap

    No public 2025/26 island balance was found for thermal plant capacity/output, total demand, solar output by plant, BESS dispatch, curtailed wind recovered, fuel savings or realized renewable share after commissioning. Forecasts above 40% should remain labeled projections. [16][4]

Provenance

17 sources

Primary owner, government, university, supplier, and engineering sources are preferred. Archived references preserve claims whose original pages moved or disappeared.

  1. [1]
    Recovered Microgrid Projects record

    Internet Archive · Archived source · captured 2021-01-17

  2. [2]
    Ilha do Sal Wind Farm

    Cabeólica · Primary source

  3. [3]
    Our History

    Cabeólica · Primary source

  4. [4]
    Cabeólica Annual Report 2024

    Cabeólica · Primary source

  5. [5]
    Cabeólica Sustainability Report 2017

    Cabeólica · Primary source

  6. [6]
    Cabo Verde Solar Photovoltaic Plants - Sal and Praia

    ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency · Primary source

  7. [7]
    Martifer Completes a 2.5 MW Photovoltaic Park on Sal

    Energelia (reporting Martifer project release) · Secondary research

  8. [8]
  9. [9]
  10. [10]
    Cabeólica Phase II Expansion - Project Summary

    African Development Bank · Primary source

  11. [11]
    Cabeólica Phase II Expansion Project Summary Note

    African Development Bank · Primary source

  12. [12]
    Cabeólica Inaugurates Battery Energy Storage System on Sal Island

    OPAÍS.cv reporting Cabeólica and Government inauguration · Secondary research

  13. [13]
  14. [14]
    Cabeólica BESS EPC

    WinPower S.A. · Primary source

  15. [15]
    Cabo Verde Inaugurates 6 MWp Santa Maria Solar Plant

    pv magazine España · Secondary research

  16. [16]
    Cabo Verde Strengthens Its Energy System and Reduces Electricity Tariffs

    Lusophone Renewable Energy Association · Secondary research

  17. [17]
    Case Study: Cabeólica Wind Project Cabo Verde

    ECOWAS renewable energy flagship project case study · Secondary research

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