The majority of households with PV systems in East Africa have reported an increase in economic activity in the first three months of using the solar power, according to a new report from GOGLA, the global association for the off-grid solar energy industry.
UK development finance institution CDC and its Africa-focused independent power producer Globeleq are providing US$66 million in debt financing for Malindi Solar Group to build a 52MW solar PV plant in Southeast Kenya.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved US$50 million of framework financing for small-scale renewable energy projects in Zambia, after recent droughts caused a serious electricity supply deficit due to the country’s heavy reliance on hydropower.
After successful trials, the Veolia Foundation, an arm of French waste management giant Veolia that financially backs non-profit, community-oriented projects, has decided to expand its decentralised solar electrification plans in northern Madagascar to create 1,000 nano-grids and 100 nano-entrepreneurs by the end of the year.
South African utility Eskom and German Development Bank KfW have signed a US$100 million (~R1.35 billion) loan facility that will go towards improving the transmission network to support grid integration of renewable energy projects after 27 power purchase agreements (PPAs) were signed in April.
A veteran of Kenya’s renewable energy industry has argued strongly in favour of lead acid batteries over lithium-ion, in response to a recent Energy-Storage.news article on off-grid solar PV in Africa.
UK-based off-grid clean energy specialist BBOXX is partnering on projects in southern Africa with DC Go, a provider of affordable off-grid electrification.
Increasingly, solar energy and behind-the-meter battery storage assets are being deployed on an ‘as-a-service’ basis and system integrator Younicos has decided to replicate the strategy for microgrids.
