Cape Town

Across Africa, rooftop solar is stepping in to fill the void as fears of non-payment and inflation-reduced donor funding dampen enthusiasm for big solar. Commercial and industrial (C&I) arrays are leading the charge, driving consolidation in markets overstocked with startup and mid-size installers.

The city authority wants a developer to construct a 7 MW solar project for it as part of a push to widen its sources of electricity, and says clean energy will be cheaper than – largely coal-fired – grid power from Eskom.

Small scale investors around the world have pledged cash to back a solar system to power winemaking and restaurant operations at the famous Groot Constantia estate.

Cape Town-based solar crowdfunding platform The Sun Exchange in April announced completion of its largest funding call, for US$1.4 million to finance what it described as a 510kW solar-plus-storage facility for Zimbawean food company Nhimbe Fresh. With the first part of a planned three-phase “going solar” transformation of the business complete, pv magazine spoke to The Sun Exchange founder and CEO Abraham Cambridge, and to Nhimbe Fresh chairman Edwin Masimba Moyo.

The closing day of the African Energy Week event held in South Africa this month heard voices casting doubt on a renewables-only energy transition and calling for a gradual change and continued investment in petrochemical production.

Instead of using its abundant cheap renewable energy potential to generate the gas simply to feed the appetite of industrial consumers in Europe and elsewhere, Africa could attract the heavy manufacturing sectors concerned, such as steelmakers, to its shores, the African Energy Week event heard.

In what is being described by its developer as a national first, a 10 MW solar plant in the Northern Cape will generate power for the local business of Amazon Web Services, with the solar electricity to be delivered via the grid operated by national utility Eskom.

Abe Cambridge, chief executive and founder of solar cell-level, crowdfunding-based PV leasing business The Sun Exchange has spoken to pv magazine about the company’s project pipeline and its focus on bringing affordable clean power to schools.

The city’s executive mayor has said his officials are working with staff at the national Treasury to draw up a program for municipalities across the nation to turn to independent generators for electricity.

IBC Solar has decided to take the plunge in the exciting South African market, by setting up its own subsidiary in the country with its partner maxx | solar energy, after undertaking a number of projects alongside the company.