Independent Power Producers

Electricity market liberalization and private sector development of solar and energy storage in Cyprus continue to be delayed. pv magazine’s Ilias Tsagas looks at why independent power producers are frustrated by electricity curtailment and a lack of market reform.

Across Africa, rooftop solar is stepping in to fill the void as fears of non-payment and inflation-reduced donor funding dampen enthusiasm for big solar. Commercial and industrial (C&I) arrays are leading the charge, driving consolidation in markets overstocked with startup and mid-size installers.

Extensive load-shedding, lack of grid capacity, failing coal-fired power stations, lack of progress in clean power procurement, and even vandalism have prompted various South African government departments to take renewables generation into their own hands, seemingly without any overarching plan, as Bryan Groenendaal reports.

Everoze Partner Abdul Sotayo highlights some of the issues that continue to hold back progress on clean energy in Nigeria, where energy poverty remains a problem, despite the nation’s vast solar potential.

The Zimbabwean government has agreed to guarantee viable power tariffs to 27 solar projects by independent power producers (IPPs). Developers are set to build 997.9 MW of capacity, with a total investment of around $1 billion.

Richards Bay Minerals has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with French renewables developer Voltalia, which plans to build a 148 MW solar project in South Africa’s Limpopo province.

President Ramaphosa’s speech this week included momentous plans for new solar and battery procurement as well as efforts to cut licensing and permitting delays as national utility Eskom scrambles to reduce the scale of black-outs.

A technology-focused event held by the Africa Solar Industry Association has heard development pipelines across the continent are swiftly changing to accommodate double-sided PV panels, and that’s good news for solar tracker providers too.

The city’s executive mayor has said his officials are working with staff at the national Treasury to draw up a program for municipalities across the nation to turn to independent generators for electricity.

Both the current status, and the future of, solar PPAs in the Turkish market as a key tool for increasing PV capacity has become a widely discussed topic. This is particularly due to the fact that after mid-2021, the future of YEKDEM (Turkey’s local FIT regime) is uncertain. The incentives could be lower than expected, or even unavailable for some technologies. This has raised the question of alternative financing mechanisms with respect to new investments.