Hybrid wind-solar-storage powering mine in Madagascar under 20-year PPA
The 8 MW/12MW wind-solar facility will be connected to 8.2 MW of storage and will power operations at Rio Tinto’s ilmenite mine in Southern Madagascar.
The Hydrogen Stream: GCL will use Ethiopian natural gas to feed its ammonia and blue hydrogen
Plus there is news this week of a green hydrogen tie-up in India, plans for another German production facility, and of new hydrogen transport networks for Switzerland and the U.S.
Bboxx cottons on to pay-as-you-go potential of Burkina Faso
The PAYG solar start-up, which is a darling of impact investors, has formed a joint venture with French cotton farming giant Geocoton to establish a foothold in Burkina Faso and says it is aiming to offer its solar home systems to 2 million customers.
PowerGen and CrossBoundary to deploy solar to 55,000 people in rural Nigeria within a year
U.S.-owned, Nairobi-based mini-grid developer PowerGen has already rolled out seven local solar networks in the West African country, funded by equity investors who will recoup their cash when all 28 systems are sold to CrossBoundary Energy Access.
Botswana utility signs nation’s first PPAs for independent solar projects
Two projects with a total generation capacity of 4 MW will be the first of a planned 12 that are set to bring 35 MW of solar to the grid of the Southern African nation by the end of next year.
‘Polysilicon shortage will continue through 2021’
The latest global PV industry outlook published by trade group SolarPower Europe, has indicated tight supply of the solar panel raw material is expected to persist this year but the trade body said it would be unlikely to drive further price rises.
South Africa installed 1.3 GW of PV last year
Around 800 MW of last year’s new additions came from ground-mounted solar plants, and the remaining 500 MW from distributed generation.
Sahel-wide group buying program could drive solar home system supply
A report commissioned by EU lender the EIB has dismissed the role solar mini-grids can play in achieving universal electrification by 2030 and signaled distribution to individual households should be the way forward, including sales to the residents of UN refugee camps in East Africa.
Legendre to build 50 MW solar plant in Mali
The €50 million project is planned to begin commercial operations in 2023.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: News of 360 MW project win in Nigeria and TBEA benefits from poly shortage
State-owned China Xinhua Power Development has booked a $53 million discount on seven solar farms as developer Kongsun seeks to pay down debts, and Canadian Solar has landed a 45 MWh energy storage contract in Colombia.
