South Africa

The South African Government’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announced French utility Électricité de France (EDF) will develop 257 MW of battery energy-storage systems across three projects, while South African renewable energy company Scatec Africa will develop one 103 MW project.

A research group in South Africa has developed a novel method for PV output forecasting in commercial buildings. The proposed approach is purportedly able to accurately forecast the output power of a PV plant using real-time weather data.

German developer Soventix has secured approval from Eskom for the first phase of a giant 1 GW solar project in the town of De Aar, South Africa. Construction of the first 342 MW is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2024.

South Africa’s public utility, Eskom, has switched on a 20 MW/100 MWh Hex battery energy storage system (BESS) in Worcester, Western Cape province, to mitigate the challenge of load shedding.

Across Africa, rooftop solar is stepping in to fill the void as fears of non-payment and inflation-reduced donor funding dampen enthusiasm for big solar. Commercial and industrial (C&I) arrays are leading the charge, driving consolidation in markets overstocked with startup and mid-size installers.

SunOyster Energy has installed its PVmover system to supply power for a lodge in South Africa’s Sanbona Wildlife Reserve. It includes nine PV modules with a combined capacity of 3.8 kW.

Consultants have until this evening to submit their proposals on reviewing and replacing South Africa’s Renewable Energy IPP Procurement (REIPPPP) scheme. In its current form, the REIPPP mechanism has been described as “expensive” to applicants and placing a “financial burden” on the evaluation office.

The Japanese government has confirmed to pv magazine that it is launching a new support scheme for hydrogen in aviation, while Japanese investors continue to actively pursue participation in a green ammonia project in South Africa.

An international research team has examined the potential use of hybrid microgrids that integrate PV and biogas for electric vehicle recharging in Karnataka, India. Their findings indicate that this combined approach offers economic and environmental benefits compared to separate biogas and PV systems.

South Korean researchers have developed a long-term solar irradiance prediction method based on a reinforcement learning algorithm. They claim that the new model is able to forecast solar radiation for more than a year using just two weeks of solar radiation learning.