Tag: Solar energy

Solar firm Mobisol rebrands as ENGIE Energy Access Kenya

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KENYA – ENGIE Mobisol, a Kenyan Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGo) solar industry firm has changed its name to ENGIE Energy Access Kenya (EEA Kenya) as it plans to increase access to affordable solar energy solutions to off-grid customers through the Pay-As-You-Go model. This comes after the parent company ENGIE integrated ENGIE Mobisol with Fenix International, another SHS company and mini-grids provider early last year. This integration puts the company in a unique position as the only energy player offering end-to-end off-grid energy solutions with both solar home systems and mini-grids under one…

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Salpha Energy Nigeria secures US$1m from All On to scale its distribution business

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NIGERIA – All On, a Shell-funded impact investment firm, has announced a US$1 million investment in Salpha Energy Nigeria to scale the company’s solar home systems distribution business. Salpha energy is focused on bottom-of-the-pyramid customers in rural and remote areas, peri-urban areas, including the Niger Delta. The investment will be used to increase Salpha’s inventory and product range, Expand sales channels and customer service infrastructure and test more flexible Pricing models to sustainably manage rural customers in states across Nigeria including in Niger Delta. Goziem Okubor, senior investment associate, All-on…

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Malawi commissions its first solar PV plant at 60MW

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MALAWI – The government of Malawi has officially launched the 60 MW Salima Solar PV plant that was developed by JCM Matswani Solar Corp Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) owned by the Canadian Independent Power Producer (IPP) JCM Power and InfraCo Africa Limited. The facility becomes Malawi’s first commercial solar project to connect to the grid. Situated 75km east of Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, the new solar energy facility will supply power to Malawi’s state-owned electricity utility, Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Limited (ESCOM), via a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA). The African Trade Insurance…

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Mahlako Energy Fund invests in South Africa’s 10MW solar plant

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SOUTH AFRICA – The Mahlako Energy Fund, a fund operated and managed by Mahlako Financial Services (MFS), has invested in South Africa’s first large-scale operational wheeling project, the 10 MW solar plant in the Northern Cape which has reached a commercial operation stage. This milestone project is South Africa’s first large-scale energy wheeling project providing clean energy to Amazon Web Services via the Eskom grid. Wheeling is a financial transaction that allows power to be produced remotely in one location and billed to an energy user in another region. Mahlako…

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Renewable energy provider FTC Solar awarded its first African project in Botswana

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BOTSWANA – FTC Solar, Inc., a global provider of solar tracker systems, software and engineering services, has announced that it has been awarded its first project in Africa since entering this new market earlier this year. According to Ali Mortazavi, FTC Solar’s head of Sales and Marketing, the project will be located in Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) campus and will provide clean solar power for teachers and students working to advance the sciences and local quality of life. “We’re pleased to announce the first of what…

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Clean energy provider Husk Power Systems launches its minigrids in Nigeria

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NIGERIA – Husk Power Systems, the rural clean energy services leader in Africa and Asia, has launched its first six solar hybrid minigrids in Nigeria, located in Nasarawa State. It is the first time that a company has rolled out multiple minigrids at one time under the Nigerian Electrification Project (NEP), an initiative funded by the World Bank and the African Development Bank and implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). Husk Power established its presence in Nigeria in early 2020, and its Abuja-based team has grown to more than…

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Solar home systems manufacturer Bboxx expands to Nigeria

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NIGERIA – Decentralised solar systems manufacturer and distributor, Bboxx, has officially launched in Nigeria, the company has announced. Nigeria is Bboxx’s largest market and the launch of its first shop in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State will help the company to expand its customer base for its Solar Home Systems (SHS). Nigeria’s national electrification rate is 55%, and a much lower rural electrification rate of 39% and the company says it’s Solar Home Systems (SHS) will help bridge the electrification gap in Nigeria as they are much more affordable and reliable for a rural…

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Multinational effort brings the first solar field to Burundi

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BURUNDI – A multinational effort to bring solar power to Burundi has been realized with the commercial operation of the country’s first-ever solar field.   The pioneering 7.5 MW solar PV plant has increased Burundi’s generation capacity by over 10% and is the country’s first substantial energy generation project to go online in over three decades, supplying clean power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses – just before the start of COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. The plant near the village of Mubuga supports international efforts to increase renewables…

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Africa REN starts construction for 38MW Burkina Faso solar project

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BURKINA FASO – West Africa-focused renewable energy independent power producer, Africa REN, has commenced construction for the 38 MW Kodeni Solar power plant in Burkina Faso after reaching financial close. Once completed, the renewable energy facility will be the largest solar power plant in the West African country. The plant is scheduled to be commissioned in August 2022 and Kodeni Solar plant will supply power to Burkina Faso’s state-owned electricity utility, SONABEL, via a  25-year power purchase agreement (PPA).  INEO by EQUANS, a subsidiary of French energy company, Engie Group, has been…

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Solar power provider d.light secures US$15m financing round to bolster its growth plans

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AFRICA – d.light, a leading innovator of solar, lighting and sustainable products has secured a US$15 million financing round led by Inspired Evolution via its Evolution II Fund.  Other investors that participated in the round included Shell New Energies, FMO, Norfund, Swedfund, and KawiSafi Ventures.   This capital raise will bolster the company’s plans to continue growing its Pay-Go consumer finance business in key markets across Africa.   “We are pleased to support the company with additional capital for growth and to secure the support from many of the existing shareholders during these difficult Covid-19 times,” Wayne Keast, Co-Managing Partner of Inspired…

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