Africa cannot wait for the development of electricity infrastructure and should exploit more quickly deployable solutions such as solar PV, according to a report by Kofi Annan’s Africa Progress Panel.
South African utility Eskom is defying the injunction of president Jacob Zuma by attempting to negotiate tariffs with preferred bidders as opposed to signing existing PPAs outright, according to the South African Renewable Energy Council (SAREC).
The complexities of combining batteries and solar microgrids are explained by Sam Duby, co-founder and director of research and development at mini-grid technologies company SteamaCo Ltd and project leader at TFE Consulting. TFE Consulting is a strategy consulting firm focusing on accelerating the energy transition in emerging markets and is active in Africa, India, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Power Africa, the USAID-funded energy initiative created under the Obama administration, has announced plans to invest US$1 billion in Nigeria’s energy sector, according to programme co-ordinator Andrew Herscowitz.
In partnership with Ghana’s Climate Innovation Centre, Solar Media’s Clean Energy West Africa will host the first incubator workshop in April for start-ups.
Jacob Zuma, the South African president, announced on Thursday that the country’s biggest utility Eskom will indeed sign the outstanding PPAs won in the fourth round of the successful Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
Oriental Renewable Solutions, a subsidiary of the Oriental Group has formed a 50:50 equity partnership with GreenWish Partners to co-develop a 50MW solar PV project in Jigawa State, Nigeria.
Investors from Solarcentury and Actis imparted wisdom on how to manage the risks and reap the benefits of African PV at Solar Media’s Solar Finance & Investment Europe event.
Doubt has been cast on the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) ‘Scaling Solar’ programme after a panel of investors revealed it could be fostering a race to the bottom for unrealistic tariffs, diverting focus from essential bankability.
