Africa

The African Development Bank funding will help the country in achieving its 2030 target of increasing electrification and supplying 20% of electric power demand through renewable energy sources.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) told Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue participants this week that $5.4 trillion of annual investment is needed to support the global shift to renewables. Kenyan President William Ruto, meanwhile, called for a fair energy partnership between Europe and Africa.

The minigrid space continues to attract a lot of attention from development partners in Africa. Minigrids can actually generate profits, so there is no doubt that commercial finance players will eventually jump on the bandwagon, according to the Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA).

The Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA) has identified the top five solar markets in Africa. Its latest report also looks at the most notable large-scale projects across the continent.

Botswana has kicked off a tender for seven solar projects. The installations are expected to help the sub-Saharan country to reduce its dependence on electricity imports from South Africa.

Gambia National Water and Electric Co. (Nawec) says the World Bank and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have agreed to finance a 23 MW solar plant in the African nation.

Ncondezi Energy has secured land for a 300 MW solar-plus-storage project in Mozambique. It has also signed an agreement with India’s Synergy Consulting for support in securing debt financing.

The African Development Fund is helping the Eritrean government to deploy a 30 MW solar facility in Dekemhare, Eritrea. It has launched a tender to seek consultants for the project.

Solar installations across Africa hit 949 MW in 2022, bringing cumulative capacity past the 10 GW mark, according to the African Solar Industry Association (AFSIA). While that may seem underwhelming for such a huge region, it shows that countries are taking big steps toward realizing the entire continent’s PV potential.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has published a dataset with 10,905 sites for PV deployment across Africa, with an estimated total capacity of 4.9 TW.