Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy firm Masdar has launched four utility-scale clean energy projects as well as thousands of residential solar systems in remote areas across Egypt.
Italian renewables, energy efficiency and waste management firm TerniEnrgia has established a subsidiary in Mozambique to participate in African renewable energy projects.
Ghana will soon update its feed-in tariff (FiT) programme for solar to include the possibility of having contracts last for 20 years, according to Wisdom Ahiataku-Togobo, director of renewables and alternative energy at the Ministry of Power Ghana.
Ghana could be a frontrunner for clean energy integration and energy exports across the West African power pool, according to a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report.
Significant increases of utility tariffs in Nigeria and Ghana are improving the business case for solar by providing money to utilities and bringing competition to the power market, according to energy developers.
A glut of solar-based products failing across Nigeria has been caused by a lack of clarity around ownership and alleged cases of corruption, according to member of the World Energy Council (WEC).
Using PV, wind and CSP, a ‘Supergrid’ interconnecting North Africa and Europe could take both regions close to 100% renewable energy by 2050, but would require political will and ambitious market design, an expert at Fraunhofer ISE has said.
Clean energy corridors of up to 2GW capacity are being planned for the West African region under plans put forward by the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE).
