Portuguese utility EDP – Energias de Portugal SA (ELI:EDP) announced on Thursday it will invest EUR 500,000 (USD 592,000) in solar projects capable of benefiting more than 30,000 people in five African countries. Through the A2E Fund, the Portuguese giant will support seven initiatives, such as the OffGridBox solar project aimed at providing energy and […]
Statkraft to Support Solar in Africa to Address Energy Poverty
European renewable energy developer Statkraft is partnering with the international development charity SolarAid to address energy poverty through solar power in sub-Saharan Africa over the next three years. Statkraft will give $2.7 million in cash and equipment in that time to support SolarAid’s work. The donations will go towards providing clean, safe and simple solar […]
Are China’s Banks Going Cool on Coal Power Plants in Africa?
Green groups say ICBC has agreed it will not fund a controversial project in northern Zimbabwe Chinese lenders are finding the fossil fuel increasingly unattractive, analyst says Coal developers in Africa may be forced to find alternative sources of financing or shift into solar and hydro, as Chinese lenders gradually shy away from plants powered […]
Statkraft Donates £2M to Curb Energy Poverty in Africa
A new alliance formed between European renewable energy developer Statkraft and international development charity SolarAid aims to curb energy poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. Statkraft will donate up to £2 million ($2.7 million) in cash and equipment over the next three years to support SolarAid’s operations. The donations will be directed to providing clean, safe and […]
OneWatt Solar Raises N3bn Green Bond For Renewable Energy
OneWatt Solar (OWS) has successful raised N3 billion under its N10 billion Green Bond Issuance Programme. The debt instruments comprised a N2 billion 7-year Green Bond Issue (Tranche I) and a N1 billion 7 year Green Sukuk Issue (Tranche II). According to the company, the issuance was the first of its kind in several categories, […]
Africa Renewable Energy Fund II Secures €130 Million First Close With SEFA And CTF Investments
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast : The Africa Renewable Energy Fund II has achieved its first close at €130 million, following a joint investment of €17.5 million from The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa and the Climate Technology Fund through the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org). AREF II, a successor to the original Fund, is a 10-year closed-ended […]
ROUNDUP: Africa Solar-Plus-Storage Projects From Jinko, DHYBRID, JIRAMA
DHYBRID said its microgrid controls and SCADA enable the battery system in Somaliland to operate either as part of the grid, or alongside it. Madagascar’s first utility-scale solar PV plant gets expansion and battery retrofit Madagascar’s first utility-scale solar power plant is to be retrofitted with battery storage and a 20MW expansion of its generation […]
Could Africa Be the Next Renewable Energy Heaven?
It has been 13 years since the World Bank concluded that Africa had “huge technical potential for clean energy projects.” More than a decade after, how much has Africa lived up to this potential? The African Development Bank Group found that some 640 million people do not have access to energy in Africa, with more […]
Where Will the Solar Megawatts Come From to Support Our Energy Transition?
My key takeaway from the Africa Solar Industry Association’s inaugural Africa Solar Outlook published in Q1 this year was that 37 countries in the world had joined the Gigawatt Club (installed more than 1GW of solar energy). Still, only two of those are in Africa, namely South Africa and Egypt. However, nine African countries could […]
CORRECTION: Africa Renewable Energy Fund II Secures EUR130 Million First Close With SEFA And CTF Investments
The Africa Renewable Energy Fund II has achieved its first close at €130 million, following a joint investment of €17.5 million from The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa and the Climate Technology Fund through the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org). AREF II, a successor to the original Fund, is a 10-year closed-ended renewable energy Private Equity […]