Page 31 - Energize July 2021

TECHNICAL

Power developments in Africa

Compiled by Roger Lilley, Now Media

PV plant gets expansion and battery retrofit New deal gets major funding

Madagascar’s first utility-scale solar power plant is to be retrofitted with battery storage and Through a new agreement with the African
a 20MW expansion of its generation capacity. The 20MW Ambatolampy PV power plant in Development Bank (AfDB), South Korea
the central highlands of the country went into operation in 2018. State-owned utility JIRAMA will invest $600-million in Africa’s vibrant
and power project company Green Yellow Madagascar, which developed the plant, says renewable energy sector. South Korea is
the plant will be expanded to 40MW capacity and fitted with a 5 MWh battery system. The providing this new financing under the
upgrade is expected to be completed by the end of this year. KAEIF (Korea-Africa Energy Investment
Framework) pact, signed with the AfDB
recently. KAEIF will provide much-needed
DC-coupled battery system to Zambian solar facility will
additional funding, with AfDB financing, to
West Africa increase available power support accelerated access to electricity
and the continent’s equitable transition
JinkoSolar will deliver a 1,2MWh battery A 200 MW solar power plant will soon to clean energy. The KAEIF pact will
energy storage system for an undisclosed be built in Zambia’s Serenje district. A also support the deployment of off-grid
customer in West Africa. The company subsidiary of the American company Ultra solutions, including mini-grids and solar
says it will supply a full turnkey DC- Green Corporation is in the construction home systems that accelerate rural
coupled battery storage system with phase of the project and plans to launch electrification in Africa.
integrated batteries, power conditioning the work during September 2021.
system (PCS), EMS software and other According to Emmanuel Mwizerwa, Improving quality of life
required components to the client. The the managing director of Ultra Green
company sees Africa as a very promising Corporation Zambia, the solar PV plant
Kuwait is to help Egypt achieve its 2030
market for energy storage due to the will be built on a 448ha site in Kosamu.
target of improving the quality of life of
relatively poor state of its grid infrastructure With 465 people employed at the project
the Egyptian citizen through economical
and high electricity tariffs. This provides site, the company hopes to complete
and sustainable energy sources. At least
strong potential to replace gas or coal-fired the project after 15 to 18 months of
61 biogas units will convert organic waste
plants with solar and batteries. construction.
into gas in Egypt’s Suhag governorate.
These units will provide a new, secure
New solar project in Namibia and continuous source of renewable
energy for domestic consumption and
A solar PV plant will soon be built near the town of Arandis in the Erongo region of Namibia. improve the health and environmental
The solar park will be built by Namibian company Natura Energy, which has just signed a conditions of villages through waste
partnership agreement with Globeleq. Called TeraSun Energy, the solar park will produce disposal. The project is funded by a
227 700 MWh of electricity per year, enough to power 68000 average Namibian homes for 1,5-million Egyptian pound (over $95,700)
a year. Power will be sold through state-owned NamPower’s grid. The project, which is grant agreement with the National Bank
currently being tendered, will require an investment of N$420-million. of Kuwait.

Microgrid to reduce Tender for Côte d’Ivoire To accelerate electrification,
electricity costs PV projects reduce costs

DHYBRID says a recently completed Côte d’Ivoire has launched pre-qualification In Uganda, several organisations and
microgrid project in Somaliland will for the financing, construction and operation electricity providers have come together to
help reduce the costs of electricity for of two 60 MW solar PV plants at Laboain in launch Utilities 2.0 Twaake. The integrated
customers in the port city of Berbera. Two the north-east of the country, and Touba, a energy pilot project is initiated by Umeme,
solar PV plants totalling 8MW of capacity, town located 680 km northwest of Abidjan. the company that distributes 97% of the
as well as a 2 MWh containerised lithium- The electricity will be fed into the national electricity generated in Uganda. The project
ion battery energy storage system, and grid under a power purchase agreement will accelerate electrification while reducing
three diesel generators are combined with the Compagnie Ivoirienne d’électricité. inherent costs, through off-grid solutions,
within Berbera’s electrical grid. The The project is being implemented under and via the national power grid. Over 58%
battery storage system is apparently the Scaling Solar programme of the of Ugandans are without electricity. This
Somaliland’s largest to date and is used International Finance Corporation, a initiative is coordinated by Power for All and
to help make the grid more stable, while subsidiary of the World Bank Group. funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, with
the microgrid has enabled the increase Interested IPPs must apply to scaling.solar@ the participation of several other Uganda-
of distribution load-bearing capacity and cinergies.ci with a copy to IFC Advisory at based organisations and distributed
efficiency of power generation. rci_solar@ifc.org by 6 September 2021. renewable energy providers.

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