Africa

The exemption will be applied to the import of materials, equipment and installation accessories for the deployment of PV and solar thermal systems. The new measure is aimed at increasing access to electricity through more off-grid projects.

The government has decided to implement a proper independent power producer development plan for large scale PV, with the help of the World Bank.

With the country’s first procurement exercise for bigger projects, the Togolese government intends to develop solar parks with a combined generation capacity of up to 80 MW. The tender is being held under the umbrella of the World Bank’s Scaling Solar initiative.

French thinktank the Institut Montaigne says Africa is absent from the global solar revolution for several reasons including a lack of suitable financing tools, the small size of projects and a systematic recourse to tendering. Removing artificial price signals set by ever more competitive tenders could be a step towards a more mature market, ready for large scale solar tenders.

Mali is set to host one of the world’s largest off grid solar+storage projects, as a 30 MW solar plant will soon be coupled with a 17MW/15MWh storage facility to power the Fekola gold mine. Finland’s Wärtsilä will supply the battery.

A unit of Dubai-based Amea Power will build the project in Blitta prefecture, in the center of the West African country, with all electricity to be sold to Togo Electric Power Co. (CEET) under a long-term power purchase agreement.

The French energy group has injected an unspecified sum into KarmSolar, which has a 165 MW solar project portfolio in Egypt. The developer specializes in power purchase agreements and solar distribution contracts with large commercial, agricultural and industrial clients.

The African Development Bank is seeking consultants to explore how two hydropower projects and an associated grid planned in Burundi can incorporate solar power. The addition of photovoltaics is intended to reduce the country’s dependency on hydro, level out generation during dry and wet seasons and mitigate the effect of droughts.

The African country has joined the World Bank’s Scaling Solar Program. Two PV plants will be located in Touba and Laboa, in the northeast of the country.

The Italian oil and gas provider has signed a concession agreement with the government of the African oil country to build a 50 MW solar plant. The project is expected to be in the province of Namibe and will be part of the nation’s plan to deploy 600 MW of solar by 2022.