Tag Archives: africa
Largest PV Plant in Africa Opens
The largest solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant on the African continent was launched last week by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and Masdar, the renewable energy company from Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). The new facility which located in the capital city of Nouakchott is the largest solar PV plant in Africa, [...]
Kiva: Microfinancing Solar
Imagine this: You’re in a developing nation with little access to electricity. In fact, you don’t have access to a grid, or enough electricity to keep a refrigerator and a light on and water filtered in your home. Or, if you have a generator, you barely afford to pay for the expensive diesel that keeps [...]
The Middle East and North Africa: Solar Mega Growth Ahead
Demand for solar energy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region will skyrocket in the next five years, according to a new report from GTM Research and the Emirates Solar Industry Association (EISA). “In terms of solar energy, it is clear that the MENA region is set to experience significant change over the [...]
In Focus: Renewables Development in the Emerging World
Do a Google search for renewable power and you will find thousands of links to sites covering renewable power development in the U.S. and in Europe. But outside of China and maybe India, you won’t find much about renewables development elsewhere. Interestingly, recent years have seen significant renewables development in other parts of the world, [...]
SolarReserve Drops Major Projects on South Africa
Last week SolarReserve and its partners, the Kensani Group Intikon Energy closed on $564 million in financing to develop two 75 megawatt photovoltaic farms. SolarReserve is one of a few companies that pursuing both giant photovoltaic and concentrating solar power projects in the U.S. and abroad. The Letsatsi Project and the Lesedi Project will be [...]
Samsung’s Solar Powered Internet School in South Africa
Samsung Business Leader for East and Central Africa Manoj Changarampatt says that Africans are more likely to have their first experience with the Internet by using a smartphone rather than a computer. This explains why, while many other companies are exiting the African marketplace, Samsung is ramping up its marketing and sales efforts on the [...]
The Fenix ReadySet Kit: Helping Power Africa
San Francisco-based Fenix International originally developed the ReadySet Solar Kit in 2008 to provide flexible power to people in remote regions of Africa but recently raised funds on the Kickstarter crowd funding site (in 1 day) to first start producing the kits for the American market. “The Fenix ReadySet is an intelligent battery system that [...]
Mecca: Leading Saudia Arabia Solar Effort
The holy city of Mecca could be the first in Saudia Arabia to host a utility-scale solar power plant, as the sun-rich desert kingdom seeks to diversify its energy mix, reports Bloomberg. In early January 2013, the city will select from at least 20 bidders that want to build local power plants in Mecca to [...]
In Focus: Off-Grid Renewable Energy
At the beginning of August 2012, the world’s biggest power outage hit India leaving 600 million people without electricity. India’s burgeoning electrical grid failed to meet the extreme demands of its growing economy. They simply did not have enough capacity to meet the high demand of electricity in cities. The power outage threw the urban [...]