News and feature articles on microgrids in Africa including RFP's, policies and players impacting the region.
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...]
It's said that necessity is the mother of invention, and that's the case in Zimbabwe where businesses and well-off residents are reportedly turning to off-grid minigrids and on-site solar, small wind and hydro-plus-storage systems in droves amid grid outages that can last 18 hours a day. The average cost per connection for minigrids in … [Read more...]
PowerGen Renewable Energy, a leading player in Sub-Saharan Africa's fledgling, but fast growing markets for microgrids, minigrids and micro-utilities, acquired the Tanzanian microgrid assets of another emerging market leader, Rafiki Power, aka E.ON Off-Grid Solutions. The acquisition furthers PowerGen Renewable Energy's goal of creating … [Read more...]
A solar-plus-storage microgrid in Lebanon is demonstrating a way the country can overcome its pollution and lack of energy access while boosting economic development. For a month running, Recycle Beirut and an adjacent residential building have been receiving all of the electricity they need with a microgrid that uses 100-kW of solar and a 100 … [Read more...]
Girls in Malawi, Africa now have a chance to get a good education thanks to a new microgrid. A solar array, capable of producing 6.6 kW during peak, will electrify the school campus, providing the lights and the energy to run computers, printers and TV screens. The “Sokola” school campus is in a mountainous area in Chitipa, Northern Malawi and it … [Read more...]
Minigrids and distributed renewable energy (DRE) promise to create much-needed employment as rural electrification ramps up in Nigeria, India and Kenya, according to a study, Powering Jobs Census 2019: The Energy Access Workforce. The report comes from Power for All, an organization of 250 business, finance, research and civil society … [Read more...]
Italian multinational energy corporation ENI is building an off-grid, solar-storage microgrid at an oil and gas facility in Tunisia and integrating it with existing, on-site natural gas generation. All the energy produced by the off-grid microgrid will be used to power the facility's upstream operations. Metka EGN, a wholly owned … [Read more...]
Four Nigerian universities will soon disconnect from the national grid with off-grid microgrids, as part of a national program to bring microgrids to dozens of universities. A subsidiary of Greece's Mytilineos, METKA Power West Africa is providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for phase one of the four Energizing Education … [Read more...]
Microgrid Knowledge today announced the date and venue of the next annual microgrid industry conference, Microgrid 2020. The international event — the world’s largest microgrid industry conference — will be held June 2-3 in Philadelphia, Pa., situated in the Northeast corridor’s vibrant microgrid market and home to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, … [Read more...]
Peter Asmus describes findings from a new report by Navigant Research that shows market opportunity for microgrids in every region of the world. Asia Pacific is the top market, especially for remote microgrid systems.
You may have experienced lessons learned while building your microgrid, and there’s more to learn even after your system is online. Download the handbook from S&C Electric designed to guide you through the day-to-day operations of your microgrid and think through long-term needs for microgrid care.
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