Togo

The World Bank’s Regional Emergency Solar Power Intervention Project is funding a tender for solar and storage in Togo, with a bid deadline of June 4.

A handful of projects are now exploring for “natural” hydrogen, also known as “white” hydrogen. pv magazine speaks with Adam Bumby, associate professor of structural geology at the University of Pretoria, about the HyAfrica project and the geological strata and structures that are most suitable for hydrogen storage.

Dubai-based Amea Power will expand the Mohammed Bin Zayed solar plant in Togo from 50 MW to 70 MW, making it West Africa’s largest project. It will also add a 4 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).

The self-consumption project has an estimated cost of around $2.4 million.

The Africa Solar Industry Association has recorded almost 2 GW of large scale project announcements since the start of last month with 18 countries planning new clean power infrastructure and including energy storage in the plants.

The emirati developer behind the nation’s first private utility scale solar project cited the financial certainty offered by the host government under its national development plan.

Politicians across the continent will have to decide between their heavily-indebted state utilities or embracing the energy transition, according to one energy analyst.

With Chinese manufacturers having warned they will pass on escalating component costs, and shipping expenses soaring since last summer, the rising price of solar is forcing some installers to redraft quotes, pv magazine has discovered.

Pending final closing, the Electrification Financing Initiative has announced it is considering private equity investments of €1.5 million to two French firms operating in Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso and Senegal, and $1.5 million to a Tanzanian business operating in Tanzania and Uganda.

Bboxx rents out offgrid PV systems and TVs to rural villagers across Africa. Customers can buy electricity under a mobile-based pay-as-you-go model.