Kenya

Researchers in Kenya are seeking to reduce the influence of the Geomagnetic field on PV panel performance by replacing aluminum module frames with a steel cage. They have specified they have been unable to quantify costs related to the solution, and that more research is needed.

New Kenya Cooperative Creameries has finalized the preliminary phase of a tender to buy electricity from a solar facility that will be built at its new KCC Sotik Factory. The installation is expected to cover around 40% of the site’s power needs.

German company Ecoligo is offering micro investment in the construction of a 69 kW floating solar plant on the reservoir of a flower farm.

Researchers in Kenya say the geomagnetic field could reduce solar panel conversion efficiency 0.21% between the equator and a 50-degree latitude. Their analysis showed the complex magnetic field can determine increases in module fill factor and falls in maximum power.

The effect the coronavirus pandemic is having on energy systems and environmental policy in Europe was discussed at a recent machine learning and climate change workshop, along with the help artificial intelligence can offer to those planning electricity access in Africa.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can play a key role in combating climate change, including by application in the renewables industry. Dustin Zubke is watching this week’s International Conference on Learning Representations workshop to find out how, after the Addis Ababa conference was moved online because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Solar support is on the way for businesses and communities struggling to cope as the coronavirus outbreak ripples across the continent.

The electricity company wants a solar module fab at its Tana Power Station in Murang’a county. The factory would have an initial annual production capacity of 10 MW.

The scale of fossil fuel deals signed between African governments and U.K. oil and gas interests reportedly amounted to more than 11 times the volume of renewable energy commitments as Britain scrambles for post-Brexit financial opportunities.

Innoenergy’s recent conference in Berlin repeated the argument financing renewable energy projects in Africa remains a struggle, however it also showcased some hopeful case studies.