electricity Archives - AfricaBusiness.com

15Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Interview, Kenya News, Main

Kenya’s Renewable Energy Development Prospects

Exclusive Interview with Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), which is one of its one-of-a-kind multilateral organizations established to catalyze global solar growth. Dr. Ajay Mathur reveals the specifics of renewable energy development in Kenya, explains possible prospects, and talks about investment decisions in this area. What investment strategies can Kenya adopt to achieve its ambitious energy goals? Achieving Kenya’s nationally determined contribution (NDC) target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 relative to business-as-usual levels will require a concerted effort to put its energy sector on a low-carbon trajectory, particularly in light of the country’s economic development goal of attaining middle-income status i...

Evaluating the Continued Need for Liquidity Instruments for IPPs as ATI Closes Phase 1 of its Regional Liquidity Support Facility (RLSF)

23Jan

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Uganda News, Zambia News

Evaluating the Continued Need for Liquidity Instruments for IPPs as ATI Closes Phase 1 of its Regional Liquidity Support Facility (RLSF)

By Obbie Banda - Underwriter | Acting RLSF Coordinator, African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) The African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) issued the fifth policy under its Regional Liquidity Support Facility (RLSF) in support of the 7.8 MW Nyamwamba II Run-of-the-River hydropower plant in Uganda on 19 May 2022; closing Phase 1 of RLSF, a liquidity instrument jointly founded by ATI and the KfW Development Bank with grant funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Under Phase 1, the five RLSF policies have been issued for the benefit of renewable energy projects in Burundi, Malawi and Uganda, enabling a total installed capacity of 116.3 MW and USD 172.5 million in total project financing. The projects supported in Burundi and Malawi with RLSF cover ...

Africa Trade Insurance (ATI) and Government of Ghana sign RLSF MOU to promote access to reliable, clean, and affordable electricity in the country

8Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Ghana News

Africa Trade Insurance (ATI) and Government of Ghana sign RLSF MOU to promote access to reliable, clean, and affordable electricity in the country

Ghana becomes the ninth ATI Member State to sign the RLSF MoU Ghana’s onboarding of RLSF will lead to significant progress in de-risking renewable energy projects, which should spur additional investments from project developers and lenders owing to the improved risk profile of the projects. RLSF is a joint initiative of ATI, the KfW Development Bank and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) In line with its mission to promote access to reliable, clean, and affordable electricity, the Government of Ghana has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) for the roll out of the Regional Liquidity Support Facility (RLSF) within the country. RLSF, a joint initiative of ATI, the KfW Development Bank and the Norwegian Agency...

7Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, South Africa News

Energy storage manufacturer expands its operations in Africa

Tesvolt partners with Solarworld Africa Wittenberg, Cape Town, São Paulo, 07/09/2021 – Tesvolt, a manufacturer of battery storage systems for commercial and industrial use, has posted strong growth in the first half of 2021. Alongside high demand for intelligent energy storage systems in Germany, international business is a key engine for growth. Over 40% of Tesvolt’s turnover now comes from international sales. It also plans to enter the North American market next year. Marked rise in international orders “Our mission is to bring affordable green energy to every corner of the world,” explains Tesvolt’s Commercial Director, Daniel Hannemann. “We’ve come quite a bit closer to the goal yet again. In addition to our sales activities in Europe, we’ve established new sales partners...

18Jun

By Yusuff WaleNo Comments

Energy, Nigeria News

Nigeria’s latest gas-related power shortages could have been avoided. Here is why.

Opinion Piece by Yusuff Wale, Managing Director, Wärtsilä Marine & Power Services Nigeria Ltd On 28 May 2021, Nigeria’s national power generation dropped to 3,059 MW and for the subsequent seven days remained below 4,000 MW, six percent below-average production. Low pressure on the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) left several gas turbine power plants with insufficient gas supply, leading to plant shutdowns and widespread power blackouts. Unlike gas turbine power plants, gas engine power plants have the flexibility to function during low gas pressure events. This flexibility significantly lowers power production risk, a supreme advantage in the context of gas supply disruptions and systemic power shortages. Power cuts in Nigeria are a regular occurrence. Data from the Transmissio...

31Mar

By CSEA AFRICA - CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF THE ECONOMIES OF AFRICANo Comments

Energy

Improving energy efficiency and interconnectivity in Africa through regional economic integration

Adedeji Adeniran Chukwuka Onyekwena Sone Osakwe CSEA AFRICA - CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF THE ECONOMIES OF AFRICA March 2021 Affordable and efficient energy supply is essential for enhanced welfare and better development outcomes. However, African states suffer from huge deficits in energy generation and distribution, resulting in unreliable power networks, frequent power outages and expensive tariffs. In a bid to improve efficiencies through interconnectivity and reduce energy development challenges at the national level, sub-regional power pooling initiatives have become increasingly popular in Africa. The idea behind creating power pools is to encourage cooperation among countries, through linking excess capacity in one country where power is produced more economically, with excess dem...

24Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Green Energy

Use of green methane in transport and power generation – researchers and industry present interim results of the MethanQuest project

New technologies for producing gas from renewable sources Testing of hydrogen, methanol and methane for use in ships, cars and power generation LNG supply and microgrid concept for Karlsruhe inland port The flagship project MethanQuest was launched in September 2018, and on it a total of 29 partners from research, industry and the energy sector have come together to work on processes for producing hydrogen and methane from renewables and for using them to achieve climate-neutral mobility and power generation. The project participants have now submitted their interim results. These relate to electrolysis systems for producing hydrogen, both on land and in offshore wind parks, equipment for producing methane, the use of gas engines in cars, ships and CHP plants, and concepts for energy...

16Mar

By Wale YusuffNo Comments

Energy, Green Energy, Nigeria News

Without flexibility, Nigeria will face difficulties integrating large amounts of renewable energy into the grid

Op-ed by Wale Yusuff, Managing Director of Wartsila Marine & Power Service Nig Ltd As the largest economy in Africa, with huge gas reserves and high solar energy potential, Nigeria has all the natural resources necessary to meet the growing demand for electricity. However, the inadequate energy infrastructure still leaves a significant part of the population without power or relying on oil-fired back-up generators. If Nigeria can improve its energy infrastructure and unlock its gas-to-power generation potential, it paves the way to integrating low-cost renewable energy, bringing electricity and development opportunities to rural villages, driving industrial growth and employment, and increasing prosperity across the country. There is no doubt that gas has an important role to play in ...

How Optimized Energy Management Delivers Reliability, Efficiency and Sustainability at the Fekola Mine in Mali

18Jan

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Mali News

How Optimized Energy Management Delivers Reliability, Efficiency and Sustainability at the Fekola Mine in Mali

Op-Ed By Luke Witmer, General Manager, Data Science, Wärtsilä Energy Storage and Optimization Since B2Gold first acquired the Fekola gold mine, located in a remote corner of southwest Mali, exploration studies revealed the deposits to be almost double the initial estimates. A recent site expansion has just been completed, and while the existing power units provide enough power to support the increase in production, the company sought to reduce its energy costs, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and increase power reliability. The addition of a 35MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) plant and 17MW/15MWh of energy storage to the existing 64MW thermal engine plant was decided. This new energy mix is anticipated to save over 13 million litres of fuel, reduce carbon emissions by thirty-nine thousand tons pe...

Hybrid solutions are the most effective way to deliver reliable clean power to remote off-grid mining operations in Africa

10Nov

By Tarik SfendlaNo Comments

Burkina Faso News, Energy, Green Energy, Mali News, Tanzania News

Hybrid solutions are the most effective way to deliver reliable clean power to remote off-grid mining operations in Africa

Op-ed by Tarik Sfendla, Market Development Manager, Africa chez Wärtsilä Energy Business The energy markets are undergoing a massive transformation as governments around the world transition away from fossil fuels towards the integration of renewable energy. This trend is clearly visible in the mining industry as demonstrated by recent power projects in South America and in Australia. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, in 2018, mines purchased 1 GW of renewable energy generation assets; this amount tripled to reach approximately 3.5 GW in 2019, 90% of which consist of hybrid solutions. Electricity demand for the mining industry is expected to increase significantly in the coming years as increased mine depth, harder rock and greater water desalination needs lead to higher energy in...