World Bank

A World Bank presentation in London drew an encouraging picture for the Nigerian market by explaining why the mini grid segment will take off in the next 12 months.

The Ethiopian Electric Utility is seeking proposals for 25 mini grid projects which are being backed by the African Development Bank.

The project, planned for Khovd in the west of the country, is being developed with the support of the World Bank.

Ethiopia has concluded the tender process for the first round of its Scaling Solar program. The winning bid is the lowest in the continent to date, according to the finance ministry.

The governments of the two African nations are considering deploying huge volumes of generation capacity over two decades. The project, still in its initial phase, is being supported by the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Energy.

Two solar farms with 80 MW of generation capacity tendered in 2017 are being built and will be commissioned this year but another two, allocated at the same time, are no nearer construction. Kenya, however, has been touted as the site of Africa’s first wind-solar-storage hybrid project.

The nation’s roofs could host up to 655 GWp of solar generation capacity a recent solar mapping exercise found. But a wider understanding of the benefits of solar, combined with incentives, would be required to unlock a potentially transformative energy development.

Ethiopia is currently trying to set up a methodology for the calculation of electricity tariffs for mini-grid systems. Should the government’s work come to fruition, it can provide much-needed certainty to mini-grid investors.

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.