Sub-Saharan Africa

The renewables business formerly known as Scatec Solar has added a 2.5 GW hydropower portfolio in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa and also added its first wind farm while reporting a consolidated loss of almost $43 million for the year.

The European Investment Bank will lend more than half the cost of expanding the first solar project built by the West African nation’s electric utility, from 37 MW to 50 MW.

The Sustainable Development Goal set forth in SDG 7.1 calls for universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services by 2030. It is estimated that currently 789 million people do not have access to electricity in their homes or communities. Rural inhabitants encompass 80% of the total number of people lacking household electricity access. On a global scale, rural inhabitants have been gaining access to electricity at a rapid rate over the past couple decades (IRENA 2020, 23). However, certain regions have seen little improvement in this area. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the starkest example.

In a recent GOGLA discussion paper, 25 GOGLA members discussed the way forward on how end-user subsidies can be modeled to accelerate universal energy access in underserved markets.

Falling module prices will help PV post another record year after an estimated 132 GW was installed worldwide in 2020, according to an energy transition investment trends report published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Canada-based Giyani Metals is planning to build a solar plant for its manganese mining site in Botswana. Three kinds of projects, with capacities ranging from 14 to 60 MW, are being considered. The power generated by the facility may be either consumed entirely by the mine or also sold to the grid under different scenarios.

The private-sector arm of the World Bank, which claims to leverage $3 of its own capital and $8 from third parties for every dollar invested in its blended finance funds, has attempted to quantify what devoting Covid recovery funds to green investment would mean for emerging economies.

Pending final closing, the Electrification Financing Initiative has announced it is considering private equity investments of €1.5 million to two French firms operating in Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso and Senegal, and $1.5 million to a Tanzanian business operating in Tanzania and Uganda.

Researchers led by Oxford University have put together a comprehensive forecast of energy developments across the African continent up to 2030. Based on analysis of data on more than 3,000 power plant projects across 54 countries, the report predicts a doubling of generation capacity in Africa over the next decade, with fossil fuel projects to represent 60% of the total. Based on this, the authors warn of the need for both the public and private sectors to change to tack to avoid a missed opportunity for renewable energy.

Gambia’s national utility is seeking proposals for an energy and water audit of its water operations. Selected consultants will assess the possibility of using solar to improve energy efficiency. The utility will consider floating PV, rooftop arrays, and solar pumps.