Libya

French researchers have identified a number of potential social issues that may arise as North Africa develops its significant hydrogen potential, while the European Commission has released the details of its pilot auction for European renewable hydrogen production.

Alpha Dhabi Holding has signaled its intent to develop up to 2 GW of solar in Libya, with the power to be bought by a state-owned utility.

TotalEnergies and Libya’s national utility plan to build a massive solar park in the Sadada region, 280 kilometers southeast of Tripoli.

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 Africa Solar Industry Association has recorded almost 2 GW of large scale project announcements since the start of last month with 18 countries planning new clean power infrastructure and including energy storage in the plants.

An accelerated transition to renewables could go either way, regarding the United States’ unique geopolitical strength. According to Indra Overland – head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs – the U.S. could surrender a major advantage if it abandons fossil fuel. The nation could, however, remain dominant in the global energy sector if it continues to lead on innovation and clean energy tech-related intellectual property.

The power line, under development by Italian transmission company Terna and Tunisian gas and electricity group STEG since 2003, was originally conceived to export power generated in Tunisia to Italy but is now based on an electricity exchange in the opposite direction.

Libya’s Misurata Free Zone is resorting to solar to increase its energy independence, with support being provided by U.S.-based energy consultancy, iQ Power.