Browsing: Solar energy

• Founded in 2022, Madica provides investment funding of up to $200,000.
• Nigeria-based Earthbond simplifies access to clean, affordable energy for African SMEs.
• Earthbond will gain from executive coaching opportunities, and access to Madica’s global network of investors for follow-on funding.

Madica, an investment program tailored for pre-seed stage startups in Africa, is channeling funding in Earthbond, a climate tech startup unlocking affordable, reliable solar energy for Nigerian SMEs.

Following the investment, Earthbond will participate in investment program which includes 18 months of dedicated mentorship support.

“We are excited to be investing in this exceptional startup as it tackles some of today’s biggest climate challenges. We won’t be able to continue the advancements of the African tech ecosystem without addressing power, and we are impressed by the team at Earthbond, their vision, and the technology that provides an affordable and eco-friendly solution. Earthbond has tremendous potential to drive an equitable clean …

• The Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) is currently implementing almost ten hours of power rationing across the country.
• Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has instructed the Tanesco chief to resolve the power rationing issue within six months.
• The country’s electricity grid is facing a shortage of 400 megawatts due to low water flow and maintenance issues.

Dear customer, please find today’s schedule for power rationing. This message has become all too familiar to millions of Tanzanians every morning, depressing news that now servs as a wake-up alarm from utility Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco).

Currently, power cuts in Tanzania, specifically in the commercial pulse, Dar es Salaam, range from 6 to 12 hours throughout the week, across various districts, including uprise sections.

The message comes as a shock not only to me but also to many Tanzanians as power cuts take a new toll in the nation with abundant alternative …

• World Bank forecast Africa’s economy to grow by 3.6 per cent in 2022
• Circular economy stand to improve job creation and the industrial sector in Africa
• Africa Agenda 2063 could be achieved swiftly by circular economy models

The circular economy is a bankable business model for Africa. It enables the realization of sustainable development in Africa, said African Development Bank’s climate change and green growth department Officer-in-charge AL-Hamndou Dorsouma, according to information from African Development Bank.

Africa’s economy could be revitalized by strategic circular economic models, especially during these recovery times, when Africa is struggling to rebuild its economy hurt by the pandemic.

The circular economy brings an airtight system, solution and framework that utilizes all economic and industrial operations to bring sustainable services and products to the market that maintain the highest value over time – to eliminate waste, reduce energy consumption and increase the durability of products.

READ: …

• Data by the World Bank Group reveals that Kenya’s electrification rate currently stands at 70 per cent
• Easing the financial access barrier for end-users has improved the uptake of home solar systems over the past decade. 
• The Kenya National Electrification Strategy highlights the Kenyan government’s plans to scale up off-grid electrification with ambitions to establish two million new connections through standalone solar home systems by 2022. 

Bboxx Kenya is set to receive a US$14 million (Ksh1.6 billion) loan facility from SBM Bank Kenya aimed at connecting 470,000 Kenyan households to renewable energy sources.

GuarantCo, a fund backed by the governments of UK, Switzerland and Australia among others, is guaranteeing Ksh1.2 billion or 75 percent of the loans.

“SBM Bank is elated to spur the growth of the energy sector in Kenya through partnerships with like-minded entities such as Bboxx and GuarantCo,” SBM Bank Kenya’s deputy chief executive officer Jotham Mutoka …

The solution, currently under deployment by DPA is tailored to the hospital’s energy needs and designed to increase efficiencies.  It will be grid-tied with photovoltaic (PV) of 80 kWp capacity and mounted on the rooftop.

This will see the facility save 30-40 per cent of their monthly electricity cost of approximately KES 550,000- this is through the use of solar power and reduced maintenance costs of all major hospital equipment affected by erratic power fluctuation.

The hospital sector, in operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, is one of the areas with high energy consumption and NCH joins a growing list of companies, universities, factories and hospitals in Kenya that have turned to solar PV grid-tied systems to supply power for self-consumption.…

East Africa Data Centre (EADC) Asset Company has finalized a $1.2Million investment in design, installation, and maintenance of commercial and industrial solar systems conducted jointly with Distributed Power Africa (DPA) and Mettle Solar.

EADC is a subsidiary of Liquid Telecom and is Kenya as well as Africa’s first and largest network of an interconnected, carrier, and cloud-neutral data center facilities. It is part of Africa Data Centres, a chain of data centers spread across Africa with hubs in Johannesburg, Kigali, Nairobi and Harare.

DPA AND Mettle Solar’s partnership seeks to provide solutions to industries in Africa looking to meet their technical and financial challenges while investing in renewable energy. The solar plant will enable EADC to significantly lower their overall energy costs whilst at the same time reducing their carbon footprint.

“We are excited to have a DFI-backed company like Mettle, as a co-investor alongside DPA. With sub-Sahara Africa experiencing …

A webinar organised by The Power & Electricity World Africa, entitled “Achieving Energy Security: Encouraging Healthy Competition And Regulation For IPPs”, took place on the morning of July 14th, 2020.

Also Read: Angola’s exceptional measures in force during sanitary enclosure

The attending virtual panel consisted of:

• Dr. Clinton Carter-Brown, Energy Centre Head, CSIR, South Africa – Moderator
• Vitor Marquez da Cruz, Managing Director, MC&A Advogados
• Eng. Julius Riungu, CEO, Tsavo Power, Kenya

The topic of African Energy security and the challenges ahead was debated in a little over an hour, with very insightful contributions from all parties involved being brought to the forefront.

The imbalance of supply and demand for electricity in Africa curbs its potential for economic development. IPPs (Independent Power Producers), though, align very well with the national energy security agenda and are a definite solution to meeting Africa’s growing electricity needs.

Africa currently accounts for …

The 2020 Off-Grid Solar Market Trends Report that has been released this month reveals how Africa could reap high benefits in the near future.

The report is basically an in-depth analysis of current market dynamics, projections for the coming five years, and also a blueprint to helps various actors compete in a robust evolving industry ecosystem.

The report, which is the fifth in a series, published by the World Bank Group and the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association (GOGLA), drew in about 1,000 industry leaders, financiers and government representatives by showcasing key industry trends, advances in technology, finance, policy and social impacts.

The 2020 edition spotlighted the industry remarkably, in fact—the edition estimates that the off-grid solar sector currently caters lighting and other auxiliary services to over 420 million people.

Noting that the industry has made enormous efforts in the past decade to assist the developing countries to attain their energy …

M-KOPA, the Kenyan pay-as-you-go solar company has this week completed the rollout in Kenya of its new fridges to all 65 its retail outlets. It is available as part of the company’s M-KOPA MK6500 system, with daily payments of only KSh 165.

This ground-breaking 100L fridge was developed specifically for Africa in partnership with   Embraco Nidec, a global cooling brand and part of Nidec Global Appliance. It won the Unit Cost Affordability Prize in the 2019 Global Leap Awards for off-grid appliances.

The Younma-branded fridge features Embraco’s innovative DC compressor, which provides lower starting power and greater energy efficiency, compared to a traditional model. It was developed with support from Shell Foundation in partnership with UKAID and USAID.

M-KOPA Customer, Esther Mutua says “Before I got the fridge, I was selling one [drinks] crate per week, but now, because I have a fridge, I sell two or three more crates …