Sub-Saharan Africa

Energy efficiency, electrification of heating and transport, and the provision of clean cooking facilities are all going in the wrong direction as the Covid crisis deprived millions in sub-Saharan Africa of electricity use, according to a report by the IEA, IRENA, WHO, World Bank and UN Statistics Division.

An international consortium led by Powergrids plans to invest $100 million in three off-grid solar plants intended to power the cities of Gemena, Bumba, and Isiro, which are located in the country’s northern region and currently have no connection to the country’s power network.

The Nagréongo power station is located about 30km northeast of Ouagadougou and scheduled for commissioning at the end of 2021.

Engie energized two facilities with capacities of 35 MW and 25 MW, respectively, in the central part of Senegal. The two plants will sell power to the local grid under a 25-year PPA at a price of XOF25/kWh ($0.046).

The Norwegian renewables business said the PPA-linked generation capacity is part of a wider, $1 billion complex which will feature 540 MW of solar project capacity and 225 MW/1.14 GWh of battery storage.

A webinar held to discuss the role of donor funding in the African energy sector was told the U.S. president has ambitious plans to ramp up donations to developing economies – provided he can get Congress on side.

European researchers have estimated the potential of floating PV deployment at Africa’s existing hydropower reservoirs which exceed 5 MW in size, by using satellite images and hydropower reservoir data. Under the most likely scenario presented in the study, utility scale floating solar may reach a capacity of more than 20 GW by using less than 1% of the water surface area at 108 hydropower plants spread across the continent, assuming a capex of €0.40/W.

The Commercial and Industrial (C&I) solar sector currently accounts for 75% of power demand in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, due to the unreliable nature of energy supply from the grid, consumers under this segment have been forced to invest in alternative sources of energy, which they consider to be more reliable and less expensive, such as the use of captive solar solutions.

The global off-grid solar appliance market began an uneven recovery from the worst ravages of the global pandemic in the second half of last year, according to market body GOGLA, but more finance and policy support must be made available to have any chance of achieving universal electricity access this decade.

The Khoumagueli Solar IPP project will sell power to local utility Electricité de Guinée (EDG).