Algeria

Italy’s Eni and Algeria’s Sonatrach have started building a 10 MW solar project in Algeria. The oil giants also inaugurated a solar lab to test the efficiency of different PV technologies under local irradiation conditions.

Zergoun Green Energy has begun production activities at its new 200 MW factory in Ouargla, southern Algeria.

Climate change ambitions announced by the governments of Egypt and Morocco are symptomatic of a desire for clean power sites with regional policymakers leaning towards auction-set payments for clean power, according to a recent webinar.

The raised ambition of an already huge renewables-powered hydrogen project in the Southern African nations vividly demonstrates the hydrogen and clean energy potential of a continent which accounted for just 0.5% of the world’s new solar capacity last year, according to trade body AFSIA’s annual report.

Developers will have time until April 30 to submit their bids. Selected projects will be awarded a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

The Italian inverter maker and the Algerian electronics manufacturer are joining forces to produce solar inverters in Algeria. The location of the planned manufacturing facility was not disclosed.

The Algerian authorities aim to launch a new solar tender by the end of October. The procurement exercise will be divided into 10 lots, ranging from 80 MW to 180 MW each. One Algerian think tank has said that it expects prices ranging from DZD 5/kWh ($0.036) to DZD 7/kWh.

Italian energy company Eni is partnering with local companies in Algeria and Egypt to explore the possibility of producing green and blue hydrogen in the North African countries. The United Arab Emirates is also collaborating with Japanese partners to develop the country’s hydrogen sector, while in New York, hydrogen has arrived in Long Island.

The tender is expected to be launched between June and July and to be divided into ten lots of 100 MW each. Domestic content requirements for modules, cables and mounting structures should be included in the procurement exercise.

The latest set of clean energy statistics compiled by the International Renewable Energy Agency signal a changing of the guard when it comes to clean power, with legacy hydropower facilities overtaken by new intermittent renewables.