Africa & Middle East

Driven by steep cost declines in PV equipment, solar is now almost on a par with wind energy and will soon become the cheapest form of energy in developing nations, according to the Climatescope 2016 report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and FMO, the Dutch development bank have invested a collective €14.62 million (US$15.52 million) in Mobisol, a German pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar service company, in order to deliver renewable energy solutions to off-grid communities in East Africa.

What is claimed to be East Africa’s largest solar offering is now online in the form of the 10MW PV plant in Soroti, Uganda.

A new report from GTM Research reveals that the top-10 PV inverter manufacturers accounted for 80% of global shipments in the first half of the year, while the top-5 took around 50% of the market.

Solar tracking manufacturer NEXTracker has unveiled a storage solution paired with its PV tracking infrastructure.

France-based investment firm Meridiam has completed financing of its second 30MW solar PV plant in Senegal.

Global EPC contractor and Saudi renewable energy company Desert Technologies announced Thursday that the 23.1MW Falcon Ma’an solar plant has been connected to the Jordanian national grid.

Sumitomo Electric Industries said that its first 1MW CPV pilot plant in Ouarzazate City, Morocco has been completed.

An open fund for solar energy and energy storage in various emerging markets has been launched by Franck Constant, the co-founder of Sonnedix Group and director of Sithe Pacific, PV Tech can reveal.

What is thought to be the world’s lowest priced solar PPA has been signed for an 800MW project in Dubai.