Tender launched to build small-sized solar plants in Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is seeking proposals from independent power producers for PV plants ranging in size from 60 to 500 kW.
World Bank offers $4.6m credit for off-grid solar panels and cook stoves in Kenya
Part of the development lender’s $150 million Kenya Off-grid Solar Access Program, the money will enable distributors to stock up and establish sales networks as well as offering affordable repayment terms to customers across 14 off-grid counties in the East African nation.
African governments doing too little to drive clean energy
Covid-19 rescue measures such as delaying electricity bill payments pile added pressure onto energy companies already hit by pandemic-related falls in demand in a continent which a new study suggests is too dependent on donor aid for the development of renewables.
IRENA presents $2tn plan to drive 5.5m renewables jobs by 2023
Doubling down on renewable energy investment and energy transition spending is required to ensure a truly green global recovery from the Covid-19 crisis and its economic aftershock, claims the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Shielding PV against Earth’s magnetic field
Researchers in Kenya are seeking to reduce the influence of the Geomagnetic field on PV panel performance by replacing aluminum module frames with a steel cage. They have specified they have been unable to quantify costs related to the solution, and that more research is needed.
Kenya’s largest dairy producer wants to buy solar
New Kenya Cooperative Creameries has finalized the preliminary phase of a tender to buy electricity from a solar facility that will be built at its new KCC Sotik Factory. The installation is expected to cover around 40% of the site’s power needs.
Kenyan floating solar crowdfunding bid could again end up smelling of roses
German company Ecoligo is offering micro investment in the construction of a 69 kW floating solar plant on the reservoir of a flower farm.
Earth’s magnetic field affecting PV panel performance
Researchers in Kenya say the geomagnetic field could reduce solar panel conversion efficiency 0.21% between the equator and a 50-degree latitude. Their analysis showed the complex magnetic field can determine increases in module fill factor and falls in maximum power.
Tackling climate change with machine learning: Covid-19 and the energy transition
The effect the coronavirus pandemic is having on energy systems and environmental policy in Europe was discussed at a recent machine learning and climate change workshop, along with the help artificial intelligence can offer to those planning electricity access in Africa.
Tackling climate change with machine learning: Day 1
Artificial intelligence (AI) can play a key role in combating climate change, including by application in the renewables industry. Dustin Zubke is watching this week’s International Conference on Learning Representations workshop to find out how, after the Addis Ababa conference was moved online because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
