A $21-billion increase over current investment levels is required to realise the off-grid potential of solar power to contribute to universal energy access, according to the latest ‘Off-Grid Solar Market Trends Report’ (MTR) 2024, published on October 8 by the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) and the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association (Gogla). The report shows that investment into the off-grid solar sector reached a high of $1.2-billion during 2022/23 period, largely driven by debt financing. Under the current trajectory, 660-million people are projected to still be without electricity by 2030, and a six-fold increase in solar investment is required to resolve this issue.
Zero Carbon Charge (Charge), in partnership with the Automotive Industry Development Centre Eastern Cape (AIDC-EC), and together with the Eastern Cape provincial government, has broken ground on what it describes as an off-grid, ultra-fast, green electric vehicle (EV) charging network. Once completed, the network in the Eastern Cape should consist of 29 sites, 18 of which will be dedicated to electric passenger and light commercial vehicles (LCVs), while 11 will be off-grid electric truck charging stations.
The City of Cape Town (CoCT) has started construction on a R200-million, 7 MW solar PV plant, located in Atlantis, with the first electricity to be delivered by the end of next year. The tender for the engineering, procurement and construction of the plant has been awarded to the Lesedi Technoserve Consortium.
In this opinion article, Industrial Gas Users’ Association of Southern Africa CEO Jaco Human makes the case for pursuing gas aggregation on a non-profit basis, while also urging Eskom and Sasol to collaborate with industry in crafting a solution that is in the national interest.
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