Sub-Saharan Africa

A U.S. research team has found the most efficient locations for agrivoltaics include western America, southern Africa and the Middle East. The researchers found crop land, grasslands and wetlands were the best environments for PV projects linked to agriculture. Conditions suitable for crops are ideal for improving solar module efficiency.

After joining the Scaling Solar initiative in mid-July, the sub-Saharan country has revealed where its first 30 MW PV plant will be built.

NamPower has announced two 20 MW solar projects as part of a 220 MW renewable energy strategy. One will be owned and operated by the utility and the second will be tendered in the near future.

A report by Greenpeace has found in the five years since China announced the continent spanning ‘One Belt, One Road’ infrastructure plan, investment in Belt & Road countries has supported 12.6 GW of wind and solar power generation capacity. That compares with just 450 MW which came online in the territories before 2014. The initiative has also supported 68 GW of new coal capacity.

In July 2016 Nigeria signed power purchase agreements with 14 utility scale PV projects with a total generation capacity of 1,075 MW. None of the projects has reached financial close and pv magazine has learned the government wants to reduce the agreed tariffs.

The London-based developer revealed blockbusting annual figures which show it is debt free, has almost £20 million in the bank, raked in more than half that figure in net profits in 2018-19 and expects twice as much in a year’s time.

Bidding for pre-qualification to the tender is open to developers until August 19. The projects are being developed in the frame of the Millennium Challenge Account-Bénin II (MCA-Benin II) program.

Rather than helping electric vehicle take-up by driving down costs to parity with traditional engines, the low price of nickel at the moment is deterring investors and could cause a supply shortage that holds back electromobility in a few years’ time.

A €38 million loan will be provided by Proparco, the International Finance Corporation and the European Investment Bank. A PV plant in Tauba will sell power for €0.0380/kWh and a second facility in Kahone which will sell electricity for €0.0398.

The African continent often generates impressive solar news and offers new angles on renewable energy systems and integration. The 21st Africa Energy Forum, held between June 11 and 14 in Lisbon, explored the various ways in which solar is being rolled out across the continent. pv magazine offers a country-by-country review of some of the Sub-Saharan markets discussed at the event.