Sub-Saharan Africa

A new survey from US-based impact measurement company 60 Decibels shows off-grid energy customers are currently facing a series of challenges such as product affordability, gender inequality, customer support, further investment in minigrids, and over-indebtedness. The report, however, reveals that most users say the quality of their lives “very much improved” thanks to off-grid PV.

With the size of utility scale solar projects in the nation having ballooned, the lessons learned from South Africa’s first big solar field continue to help developers roll out PV as a key energy source.

The government of Zimbabwe has approved a $45 million fund for renewable energy projects. The announcement coincides with the licensing of 10 independent power producers to generate 271 MW of renewable energy, including 116 MW of solar.

A consortium involving 8.2 Renewable Energy Experts Hamburg and its partners has completed a feasibility assessment for a floating PV system on four reservoirs of different hydropower plants in Uganda.

A group of researchers has made another attempt to design solar cells based on non-toxic and earth-abundant copper antimony sulfide. The proposed cell architecture is the result of the optimization of the device’s layer thicknessess.

Terje Pilskog, the CEO of Norwegian developer Scatec, recently spoke to pv magazine about the company’s PV projects in South Africa, Botswana and Egypt. He said financing remains a critical hurdle to deploy solar across the continent.

The European Union has secured a critical raw materials deal with Rwanda, expanding collaboration between the two sides – particularly in the solar sector. A friendly regulatory environment deserves credit for helping to fast-track the adoption of solar, according to local analysts.

Air Liquide and Sasol have signed new power purchase agreements (PPAs) with South Africa’s Enel Green Power RSA. The two companies have entered into four PPAs since the start of 2023 and are now set to supply around 690 MW of renewables to Sasol’s site in Secunda, South Africa.

The provincial government of Gauteng, South Africa, plans to set up a solar park with a capacity of at least 800 MW. Premier Panyaza Lesufi says 100 MW could be connected to the grid from April.