PAYG solar

Félix Tshisekedi reportedly said he wants to use standalone energy units, such as solar home systems, to bring electricity to at least 21 million people in the next nine years.

To have any hope of restricting global heating to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius, the renewables success story which saw 108 GW of solar deployed last year needs to be cranked up to the next level – and fast.

Industry body Gogla and the World Bank’s Lighting Global program said the last six months set a record for off-grid solar deployment. Solar home systems and other small off-grid appliances are being used in ever larger numbers.

Two high-profile bankruptcies this year could serve as a warning for the potential pitfalls of pay-as-you-go and small scale, off-grid solar. However, Marcus Wiemann and David Lecoque of the Alliance for Rural Electrification say such business models can lead to long-term success and have a key role to play in providing power to the 1 billion people throughout the world who still live without electricity.

PEG Africa, a company offering pay-as-you-go solar to consumers and businesses in West Africa has received a $5 million investment from European Union initiative ElectriFi. The company says it has now secured more than $50 million and plans a major expansion.

The solar home system company, which enables customers to pay their solar electricity bill through an app on their mobile on a PAYG basis, has conducted a monumental funding round as it eyes expansion to become a fully-fledged pay-as-you-go utility.

A 90 kW pay-as-you-go solar system is helping a fish trading company cut energy bills at its cooling sites.

pv magazine caught up with the chief exec of the pay-as-you-go solar home system provider to get his thoughts on the claim mini and microgrid business models don’t stack up and the suggestion government-driven utility scale solar should light the way in the sub-Saharan marketplace.