Bringing electricity to 4.5 million people with just 45 MW of off-grid PV
The African Development Bank is providing around $56 million to fund a program to bring electricity to around 900,000 households in sub-Saharan Africa by 2025. The financial institution will also provide African distributed energy service companies with critical technical guidance and credit enhancement.
Wärtsilä doubles renewable energy penetration by adding storage in holiday paradise
The Finnish company has commissioned a large scale storage project to reduce curtailment of wind and solar assets on Bonaire. The system will use machine-learning based energy management software to provide grid services and manage all of the island’s power generators.
Belectric installs 1.9 MWh of battery storage for Audi in Germany
The German EPC contractor built the 1.9 MWh energy storage system for the automaker as part of a micro smart grid project on the EUREF Campus, a green innovation hub in Berlin.
Solar the key to progress on global access to electricity
A tracking report from five major international agencies finds the world is lagging behind sustainable development goals for 2030. While more effort is needed to reach some of the world’s poorest populations, though, notable progress has been made in reducing the electrification deficit, thanks to off-grid solar and minigrids.
Battery group unveils online map of global storage installations
The Consortium for Battery Innovation has produced an interactive, online map highlighting the location of lead-battery storage installations worldwide.
Engie finishes minigrid, expands PV home system business in Zambia
French power group Engie has started up its first minigrid installation in Zambia, while also announcing plans to expand Fenix, its PV home system unit for the African market. It did not disclose the specifications or size of the minigrid system.
Australian government unveils $35.7m pot to power remote communities
Australia’s Coalition government has announced funding to support up to 50 off-grid and fringe-of-grid feasibility studies that will investigate whether building a microgrid is cost-effective and whether existing off-grid capabilities can be upgraded with more up-to-date technology.
African Development Bank approves $20m to back minigrids in DRC
The board of the multilateral development finance institution has approved a $20 million facility to back the deployment of renewables-based minigrid projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Guinea-Bissau launches 22 MW PV tender
The tendered project is expected to provide 500,000 people with access to energy, while more than doubling the country’s total installed power generation capacity. It includes a grid-connected 20 MW solar plant in Gardete and two 1 MW hybrid solar-diesel plants in Gabu and Canchungo that will also rely on some storage capacity.
LCOE for li-ion batteries has fallen to $187/MWh — BNEF
Lithium-ion batteries are increasingly posing a competitive threat to coal- and gas-fired generating plants when paired with solar and wind projects in a number of markets throughout the world, without the need for subsidies, according to new research by BloombergNEF (BNEF).
