Sub-Saharan Africa

Via an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Italian oil company aims to increase its presence in Africa’s renewable energy markets. It already invests more than half of its budget in the region.

The two companies have installed systems in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo to provide a cheap, secure energy supply. BloombergNEF has predicted the market for off-grid solar will grow considerably as it can meet the needs for universal energy supply at a cost competitive price.

Tanzanian power utility Tanesco wants to build solar plants across six regions. Successful projects will range from 20 MW to 50 MW in size and the tender has been launched as the nation tries to ramp up solar’s share of its energy mix.

In an interview with pv magazine, vice president of GoodWe, Ron Shen, talks about the company’s plans for Germany, Spain, Africa and India, in addition to its goal to triple production capacity to 15 GW in China. He also discusses the effect of China’s 31/5 policy change, and plans for an initial public offering (IPO).

The Energy Project Implementation Support Unit (EPISU) will help independent power producers (IPPs) improve the bankability of projects. The new entity is being created with the financial support of the African Development Bank.

The solar plant was built by the local IPP, Meinergy Ghana Ltd in Gomoa Onyaadze, in southern Ghana. The country’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said that further IPP projects will be brought online via competitive bidding, and that solar bids will have to be cheaper.

The World Bank is helping Gambian utility NAWES find a consultant for the nation’s first large-scale scheme, to be developed under the national Electricity Restoration and Modernization Project. The solar plant may have a capacity of up to 20 MW, and could be linked with a storage system.

Tanzania-based mini-grid operator, Jumeme is tendering two 1 MW projects in the Rukwa and Katawi regions. The projects are being developed in the frame of the Micro Power Economy, Tanzania Roll out program, which is financially backed by the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF).

Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency is seeking consultants to conduct feasibility studies and develop a masterplan design for the ambitious program, which aims to establish a new energy infrastructure in the state of Jigawa. The program is backed by the African Development Bank.

An Africa power sector scorecard shows that solar will make inroads into the African energy sector over the next two years, accounting for 9% of new capacity additions, as renewables uptake across the continent continues to grow.