News and feature articles on microgrids in Africa including RFP's, policies and players impacting the region.
Clean energy’s gold rush for minerals used to manufacture electric vehicles, solar and other systems is not always sustainable and sometimes employs questionable labor practices, says a group that has released a mining toolkit to help the industry develop best practices. The Energy Resources Governance Initiative’s (ERGI) toolkit aims to … [Read more...]
Engie EPS sees microgrids and energy storage as key to its growth, but expects a short-term disruption because its manufacturing facilities are in Italy, which has been heavily hit by the coronavirus (COVID-19). The technology division of France-based energy giant Engie issued the warning in its 2019 earnings results released March … [Read more...]
Peter Asmus of Guidehouse explores the different drivers impacting microgrid and virtual power plant (VPP) uptake. The stars are aligning for distributed energy resources (DER) to play an increasingly important role in providing energy services across both retail and wholesale markets. Recent forecasts from Navigant Research, a Guidehouse … [Read more...]
For the Silvies Valley Ranch outside of Burns, Oregon, off-grid microgrids for each of 600 homes under development makes more financial sense than paying the local utility $7 million to run utility lines to the ranch. The eco-friendly ranch and luxury resort, formerly a dude ranch, is located on 140,000 acres in eastern Oregon where visitors … [Read more...]
Xcel Energy is seeking regulatory approval to move forward with seven microgrids, at a cost to the utility of $23.4 million, chosen from a community resilience solicitation that the Colorado utility issued in May. The microgrids will serve the Denver International Airport Automated Guideway Transit System; National Western Center; Denver Rescue … [Read more...]
It’s not surprising that military microgrids in the US demonstrate some of the most sophisticated and innovative uses of distributed energy. After all, they are designed with national security in mind. As such, they serve as a learning ground for microgrids developed for the civilian sector. Here we offer a look at four military microgrids … [Read more...]
Rocky Mountain Institute's Andrew Allee describes a problem arising out of electrification in Nigeria. Minigrids are bringing electricity to rural areas, but residents do not benefit if they cannot afford appliances. In early 2018, a solar minigrid installation transformed energy access in Gbamu Gbamu, a Nigerian town 45 minutes from the … [Read more...]
The World Bank expects a boom in Nigeria's minigrid sector as the multilateral development bank and Nigerian government introduce an auction as part of a five-year, $550 million minigrid tender. The tender is part of a minigrid and solar home electrification program that has been running since June. Speaking at an industry conference held … [Read more...]
Spurred on by a conversation with his father about the expense of operating an electric boiler for hot water, André Nel, founder of South Africa-based Eco-V, set out in search of a solution. That led to a technology, GreenTower, that uses hybrid solar microgrids to treat and heat borehole water. “The solution we have found a viable … [Read more...]
Kenya's government continues to forge ahead with an ambitious initiative for universal electrification and distributed energy, with state utility Kenya Power and Lighting (KPLC) launching a $6.7 million plan for 23 off-grid minigrids, the term used for microgrids in Africa. Twenty-seven solar-diesel minigrids are already up and running in … [Read more...]
There are multiple approaches to funding microgrid projects. Eric Dupont, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at PowerSecure, discusses why CAPEX versus OPEX become important considerations in this interview with Yasmin Ali, Microgrid Knowledge contributor.
Electrical power is essential. Our homes, businesses, healthcare, community infrastructure and educational institutions all rely on power. Yet, due to an aging infrastructure and increasing demand, our electrical grid is not as reliable or resilient as we need. Download this white paper to learn more about smart energy alternatives.
Copyright © 2020