They may be a relatively new country, having only gained independence from Portugal in 1970, but you can’t accuse Cape Verde of not moving with the times. Keen not to be dependent on other countries for power, the government has announded a majpr investment programme of 140 million euros, most of it from major overseas investors.

The islands targeted for wind farms are Santiago (above), Sal, Sao Vicente and Boavista and building is ready to start before the end of this year. Its a sign of the potential of Cape Verde, that securing foreign investment has been relatively easy, the main investor is a multi national country owned by five european countries.

The Cape Verde government sees this as just the start as they strive to keep up with demand for more power on the fast growing islands. In the near future, the governmment will invest 250 million euros in sustainable energy and has strong backing from the World Bank, the Aftican Development Bank and the Japanese Development Bank.