Africa Solar Energy Update

SolarPlaza is hosting a conference, Unlocking Solar Capital, 25-26 October 2017, in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. In anticipation of that meeting, the organization has published a comprehensive report, Facts & Figures - Solar Energy in Africa 2017.

ABB has recently published an overview of its solar activities in South Africa. 

Morocco lights the way for Africa on renewable energy

by Celeste Hicks Thursday 17 November 2016

COP22 host leads by example in the fight against climate change with 52% green energy target by 2020 and Africa’s first city cycle hire scheme...

Morocco has no fossil fuel reserves so is almost entirely reliant on imports. In 2015 King Mohammed VI committed the country to increasing its share of renewable electricity generation to 52% by 2030, aiming for the installation of around 10 gigawatts (GW). ..

For more from the Guardian, click here.

Windmills or Reactor Cores? Inside South Africa’s Energy Clash

Solar and wind are having success in South Africa. Please read on... 

Windmills or Reactor Cores? Inside South Africa’s Energy Clash
by Norimitsu Onishi Nov 13, 2016

UPINGTON, South Africa — In one of the most sun-drenched corners of the planet, a 670-foot tower rises above a desert dotted with 4,160 mirrors. Tracking the sun throughout the day, the mirrors, called heliostats, redirect the sun’s rays into the tower, where water is heated to generate steam — and electricity.

Since the plant, Khi Solar One, began operating early this year near Upington, it has produced enough power for 65,000 homes during the day, but also, thanks to the latest technology, for a few hours after the sun sets.

... South Africa is experiencing a boom in renewable energy. Solar plants and wind farms together have generated 2.2 gigawatts per year, which has been lauded as a model for renewables adoption in developing nations. Renewable energy has increased South Africa’s productivity, stopped the blackouts, and reduced its reliance on coal in part to comply with the Paris Agreement.

As the facilities have increased production, they have helped stop the blackouts that plagued South Africa until a year ago. In a country still dependent on coal, the renewable energy industry has been lauded by many energy experts and environmentalists as a model for developing nations. 

[More in the New York Times ...]

As elaborated in the article, in spite of the success of solar and wind energy, there are forces at work to expand the nuclear option, with the prospect of burdening future generations with nuclear waste and the cost to decommission decades into the future. When will our generation step up to the plate and take responsibility for the needs of future generations, as all generations have until the past century?

Unlocking Solar Capital Africa

This looks to be a very productive and well organized event, in Nairobi November 1-2, 2016.

300+ executives connect and engage in in-depth discussions to solve Africa’s solar energy funding gap - and get projects realized. 

Unlocking Solar Capital: Africa, Solarplaza’s 7th event on the continent, will bring together hundreds of representatives from development banks, investment funds, solar developers, IPPs, EPCs & other solar stakeholders.

Details can be found here.

Africa Energy Ministers Conference 2000

Learn about the Africa / US Energy Ministers' Conference in Durban, South Africa in December 2000...

... A Partnership for Sustainable Energy Development for the African Century

... as reported by the iNet News Team.


 

Solar Light for Africa 1999

In 1999 SolarQuest® joined Solar Light for Africa to guide 20 American high school students and 20 African high school students to install 100 small solar systems on schools, churches and orphanages in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.

First Lady Janet Musevini watches
Cassie sending a message by satellite phone
powered by the Solar Suitcase

Read more here: Village Power 2000.