South Africa

South African individuals and homeowners can now claim rebates of up to 25% of their solar panel costs, up to a maximum of ZAR 15,000 ($800). Recent changes to the solar rebate scheme specify that the panels must have a minimum output of 275 W. They can be installed as part of new or existing systems.

The opportunities available from the aggregation and interpretation of mass data are huge and could help attract investors and ensure more efficient electricity networks as the world races to try and achieve the UN goal of access to reliable energy for all this decade.

Meridiam and Engie have agreed to acquire BTE Renewables, which operates 150 MW of onshore wind and 190 MW of solar in South Africa. The Johannesburg-based developer currently has a project portfolio exceeding 3 GW.

Oxford nanoSystems (OnS) has started working with electrolyzer manufacturers to test and scale up hydrogen production.

Ginlong has announced the launch of its new Solis S6 Advanced Power Hybrid Inverter, with exclusive availability for South Africa.

The plant, Solar Capital’s third major project in the country’s Northern Cape, is located in Loeriesfontein. Chinese manufacturer Sungrow supplied its SG3125HV PV inverters for the project.

South Africa’s government has initiated a public consultation to exempt some PV and battery storage facilities from obtaining environmental authorization during the permitting process, but only for sites categorized as having “low” or “medium” environmental sensitivity.

Solis has released a new line of hybrid inverters in five different power output versions, ranging from 3 kW to 8 kW. The hybrid inverters can be used with either lithium-ion or lead-acid batteries, with a maximum charging and discharging current of 190 A.

HDF and ZETDC have signed Zimbabwe’s first utility-scale green hydrogen power plant, with 178 GWh of expected annual electricity production. Rystad Energy, meanwhile, says Africa’s total electrolyzer pipeline has hit 114 GW.

The South African government is looking for independent power producers to build and operate floating or ground-mounted PV projects at selected government waterworks infrastructure or damns. The projects should be operational for 20 years.