Africa & Middle East

The State Grid Corporation of China, the world’s largest state-owned utility company, has joined the Desertec Industrial Initiative (Dii).

Mozambique has officially opened the country’s first PV module production facility.

Updated. Market research firm, IHS has reiterated growth projections for PV installations in 2013 of 35GW, while forecasting growth of only 15% to just over 40GW in 2014.

Qatar will use the roofs of water reservoirs for solar energy generation Ahmed Nasser al-Nasser, technical affairs director of Kahramaa, Qatar’s general glectricity and water corporation told the Solar Qatar Summit on Monday.

The 75MW Kalkbult solar plant has become the first utility-scale PV project under South Africa’s renewable energy programme to begin generating power.

SunEdison has secured ZAR1.8 billion (US$185 million) in funding for a 60MW solar project in South Africa.

Total S.A. has become a preferred bidder in the third phase of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) to build an 86MWp PV power plant using SunPower’s ‘Oasis Power Blocks’ integrated system.

German state development bank KfW is to provide €654 million (US$900 million) for a Moroccan CSP project.

The requirement for local content in Saudi Arabia’s early solar power tenders could mean it misses out on global cost cuts, according to IHS.

Swaziland in southern Africa is line for a 100MW solar farm, according to local media reports.