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A new study assessing the commercial and economic feasibility of enhancing off-grid solar inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa indicates that solar home systems (SHS) could offer the most cost-effective solution for providing electricity access for most unserved segments in the region. Commissioned by the European Investment Bank and the International Solar Alliance, the study confirms that 120-million households across Africa lack access to reliable and affordable energy and that 60-million households are expected to remain without electricity by 2030.
Following a warning from the South African Weather Service that a succession of cold fronts is expected to sweep across the country this week and going into the weekend, State-owned Eskom is appealing to the public to reduce electricity use as the cold conditions “will put severe pressure on the power system”. The system is currently performing relatively well and Eskom is not expecting to implement load-shedding at this point, it states.
The financial resources allocated by governments globally to clean-energy measures in response to the Covid-19 crisis currently represents only 2% of the $16-trillion in total fiscal support set aside for economic stimulus, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) new Sustainable Recovery Tracker shows. The $380-billion announced to support clean-energy actions as of the end of the second quarter of 2021 is set to be supplemented by an additional $350-billion a year between 2021 and 2023.
Ethiopia has completed filling the reservoir of its huge dam on the Blue Nile river for a second year and the plant may start generating power in the next few months, a minister said on Monday, a move that has already angered Egypt and Sudan. Addis Ababa says the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a $4-billion hydropower project, is crucial to its economic development and to provide power.
Wind, solar and energy storage project consultancy and technical services provider ArcVera Renewables has set up a permanent office and new subsidiary company in Cape Town, strengthening its six-year local presence to offer and meet the growing renewable energy ambitions of South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. This move underpins South Africa’s growing importance as a strategic market for ArcVera, the company said in a statement on July 19.
Recurring vandalism of Cape Town electricity infrastructure could be the work of syndicates, Eskom believes. The vandalism of Eskom kiosks in Eerste River has left customers without electricity supply for the second time in less than a month, the power utility said in a statement.
Insurance agency African Trade Insurance (ATI) Agency has provided the 60 MW Salima solar photovoltaic (PV) plant, in Malawi, with a revolving liquidity guarantee that can be drawn following any payment delays by the national offtaker, namely the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom). ATI provided the $4.4-million liquidity guarantee under its regional liquidity support facility (RLSF) against the risk of delayed payment by Malawi power utility Escom.
As part of the Sustainable Infrastructure Development System (SIDS) methodology launched last year, the government announced 50 projects, along with 12 special projects, that the methodology has already been applied to. These projects were fast-tracked for implementation along with all regulatory processes.
Frozen goods handling company iDube Cold Storage, based at the Dube Tradeport, King Shaka International Airport, in KwaZulu-Natal, is expanding its rooftop solar system. The project entails installing a solar carport structure to house pallets and will be installed and managed by solar solutions company SolarSaver.
Educational engineering equipment manufacturer and importer Amtec Techniquip has developed new products to assist in local distance learning at a time when learners cannot physically access their engineering learning institutions. “Two trends we’ve been adapting to are the integration of software, which enables us to use the hardware equipment that we are supplying, and virtual platforms, through which you can build and develop electrical, mechanical, hydraulic or pneumatic circuits on a software package, and add simulation to allow for fault finding,” explains Amtec sales manager Roger Forte.