d.light, a solar solutions provider for communities without access to reliable power, has secured US$22.5 million in new financing to grow its PayGo business into additional off-grid territories.
Community solar is emerging as a promising new source of demand in the US, opening up access to solar among previously excluded groups. John Parnell reports on the prospects for a new market segment whose time seems to have come.
Not-for-profit GivePower Foundation, created by US firm SolarCity, has installed the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) first minigrid using solar and battery storage at Virunga National Park.
Telergon’s S6000N DC switch disconnector from distributor Switchtec has been introduced to meet the demand for this type of product as a result of the increased usage of 1500VDC generation in photovoltaic (PV) utility scale systems.
It’s the globe’s second largest continent, home to the some of the world’s fastest growing economies, and it has supplied precious resources to nations for hundreds of years - so why do today’s solar PV businesses find it so difficult to succeed in Africa? PV Tech spoke with Jon Sarpong, president of PV developer and consultancy Avior Global, about the challenges and opportunities for PV companies eyeing up the African market.
Bill Gates once again shunned solar power from his vision for energy access in Africa in his talk at the University of Pretoria in South Africa on Sunday, where he argued that whilst “cheap, clean energy” is what Africa needs, solar does not fit the bill.
