Sub-Saharan Africa

An international research team has designed a residential solar-plus-storage system based on gravity. The system was built with a solar power generator, a bulk booster charge controller, an inverter, a solenoid device, a deep cycle battery, a pulley block, a geared motor, a microcontroller, and wire ropes. Its creators said the system is ideal for regions with high solar radiation. They found that, due to its high electrical requirements, the system needs to rely on high-power solar modules with an output of over 500 W.

The government wants 30% of its power from clean energy sources by 2035 and the 50 MW of solar targeted by the World Bank would make up two-thirds of that ambition.

A solar array planned in the Tetereane district of Cuamba has been described by its developer as the nation’s first independent power project to feature utility scale storage.

Energy efficiency, electrification of heating and transport, and the provision of clean cooking facilities are all going in the wrong direction as the Covid crisis deprived millions in sub-Saharan Africa of electricity use, according to a report by the IEA, IRENA, WHO, World Bank and UN Statistics Division.

An international consortium led by Powergrids plans to invest $100 million in three off-grid solar plants intended to power the cities of Gemena, Bumba, and Isiro, which are located in the country’s northern region and currently have no connection to the country’s power network.

The Nagréongo power station is located about 30km northeast of Ouagadougou and scheduled for commissioning at the end of 2021.

Engie energized two facilities with capacities of 35 MW and 25 MW, respectively, in the central part of Senegal. The two plants will sell power to the local grid under a 25-year PPA at a price of XOF25/kWh ($0.046).

The Norwegian renewables business said the PPA-linked generation capacity is part of a wider, $1 billion complex which will feature 540 MW of solar project capacity and 225 MW/1.14 GWh of battery storage.

A webinar held to discuss the role of donor funding in the African energy sector was told the U.S. president has ambitious plans to ramp up donations to developing economies – provided he can get Congress on side.

European researchers have estimated the potential of floating PV deployment at Africa’s existing hydropower reservoirs which exceed 5 MW in size, by using satellite images and hydropower reservoir data. Under the most likely scenario presented in the study, utility scale floating solar may reach a capacity of more than 20 GW by using less than 1% of the water surface area at 108 hydropower plants spread across the continent, assuming a capex of €0.40/W.