Sub-Saharan Africa

Africa has 40 % of the world’s solar potential but only 1 % of the world’s solar panels.

The South African authorities have published the list of the preferred bidders of the fifth round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP). Around 2.58 GW of renewable energy capacity was allocated through the procurement exercise.

The latest edition of a clean power jobs survey produced by IRENA and the International Labour Organization has stressed the important role which will need to be played by the public sector if the energy transition’s employment benefits are to be shared equally.

The move will encourage private sector renewables companies to be part of the national energy industry, a representative of the regulator told a recent webinar which considered how to accelerate clean energy roll-out in Africa.

Under development since 2015, the 7.5 MW solar plant was built thanks to the efforts of multiple international entities including the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the U.K. government-funded Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP).

With an initial capacity of 100 MW, the plant will supply more than 100 million kWh a year to countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, helping to reduce load shedding by providing much needed power at peak times.

With a rising chorus of voices calling for more solar industry recruits to perform the energy transition, Nigeria already has a skilled base of PV engineers and, with a little help filling the few gaps they have in their knowledge, the nation can step into the breach immediately, as Testimony Gabe-Oji, chief technology officer for Abuja-based installer Green Energy Spectrum, explains.

GreenYellow, a French energy solutions provider, has secured a €4.5 million guarantee from the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency to facilitate the construction, operation and maintenance of a 30 MWp solar project in Burkina Faso.

The Green Climate Fund has announced it will provide US$150 million in funding to the Desert to Power initiative – a project led by the African Development Bank and spanning several countries that aims to build 10 GW of PV generation capacity in various projects across the Sahel region to the south of the Sahara Desert.

Platinum group metals mining giant Anglo American Platinum (Amplants) has selected Pele Green Energy and EDF Renewables South Africa as the preferred developers to build a 100 MW solar PV plant in South Africa.