Rockefeller and Ikea foundations pledge $1bn for small scale renewables
With ‘shovel-ready’ projects across India, Africa and Latin America in line for a mix of grants, cheap loans, equity investment and financial guarantees from this year, the two bodies hope to trigger $20 billion in total funding and bring reliable power to a billion people.
Namibia’s capital city seeks proposals for 25 MW of PV
Through the tender, the administration of Windhoek wants to build several projects on a build, own, and operate basis.
Plan to double size of 20 MW Madagascar solar park
The island nation’s first utility scale solar park is set to double in size and have energy storage added, with work due to start this month.
French government finances 150 MW solar project in Tanzania with €130m
The solar facility is intended at reducing the country’s dependency on hydropower, especially during drought periods.
Gravity-based storage for distributed solar
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.
Niger joins the Scaling Solar club
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.
UK and Norwegian governments back solar-plus-storage in Mozambique
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.
Universal electricity access by 2030 remains a distant dream
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.
Giant off-grid solar project to power three cities in DR Congo
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.
Greenyellow secures €21m financing for 30 MW solar park in Burkina Faso
The Nagréongo power station is located about 30km northeast of Ouagadougou and scheduled for commissioning at the end of 2021.
