Independent Power Producer (IPP) Office head Bernard Magoro has signalled that the projects bid during the current seventh renewables procurement bid window could carry a price premium, as bidders adjust to the spatial realities that have arisen as a result of the country’s prevailing grid constraints. Through the bid window, which was launched in December, government is seeking to procure 3 200 MW of onshore wind and 1 800 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity and a bid submission deadline of the end of April has been set.
Nasdaq-listed American Resources Corporation’s ReElement Technologies has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with energy storage company Afrivolt to establish a lithium-battery and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing ecosystem in Africa, with a specific focus on West Africa. Afrivolt aims to develop large industrial projects to support the build-out of Africa’s regional and global lithium-ion battery supply chains.
A new International Energy Agency (IEA) report on electricity highlights that per person electricity demand across Africa has been stagnant for three decades, making the continent a worrying outlier in electricity demand trends. As of 2023, 600-million people, or more than 40% of the African population, lacked access to electricity, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.
South African energy company Aqora has rebranded to become Afrivolt, says MD Deshan Naidoo. The firm’s goal, however, remains the same – opening a lithium-ion cell gigafactory in South Africa, able to produce anodes, cathodes and lithium-ion batteries for stationary storage applications and, in the medium term, for electric vehicles (EVs). Procuring and processing the minerals and metals needed for the factory within Africa has become more of a longer-term plan, adds Naidoo, with cell …
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