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Friday, 29 April

Dear <<First Name>>

Ensuring Africa’s burgeoning C&I sector is powered by clean, reliable and sustainable energy sources is in everyone’s interests - from the businesses that typically have to rely on intermittent grid supplies or costly and polluting diesel gensets, to the world at large as we strive towards net zero targets. That's why we seized the opportunity to speak on the subject at the recent Kenya Solar Week 2022 in Nairobi. 

Camco’s regional manager for East Africa, Adam Fitzwilliam, joined a panel discussion specifically about the evolution of the C&I solar sector. Being the head of Spark Energy Services, the innovative USD 100m finance company we launched last year to support the deployment of captive generation and energy efficiency initiatives in Africa’s C&I sector, the talk was an ideal opportunity for Adam to share his learnings and gather insights. 
  
To recount Adam’s key takeaways: 

C&I businesses are showing an increased interest in procuring fully funded captive solar and energy efficiency solutions (COVID-19 was a painful reminder of businesses’ exposure to unforeseeable market forces and many companies are looking to build resilience and cut costs through onsite energy interventions); 

Developers need to prioritise quality in equipment selection and project design to increase customer trust; and 

Energy interventions for the C&I sector can support national ambitions around affordable, reliable and low carbon power as a backbone for industrialisation. 

Open knowledge-sharing discussions like the one in Nairobi about how and how not to realise Africa’s C&I sector’s potential sustainably are critical for its long-term success, and so I applaud organisers SolarQuarter for taking the initiative. 


Cheers

Geoff Sinclair

Managing Director, Camco Clean Energy


 

Story of the week

Sun King, the largest provider of off-grid solar energy products in Africa and Asia, has raised USD260 million in Series D funding. The funds will be used to support the company's expansion and a growing product line, including larger solar systems and new products.

West Africa

Benin: Oikocredit invests in solar mini-grids (Afrik21)
- Solar mini-grid provider Weziza is set to receive USD1.4 million financing from the Dutch impact investor to implement a rural electrification project.

Ghana/ Kenya: EDFI lends USD3 million to solarise businesses (Afrik21)
- The EU-funded facility is signing a new loan for Redavia, which will use the investment to finance its expansion in Ghana and Kenya.

Liberia: RREA invites bids for hydropower plant (KQ Education Group)
- Sealed bids from eligible bidders are invited for the design, supply and installation of hydro-electro-mechanical equipment and associated civil works for the Gbedin Falls plant.

Nigeria: Federal Executive Council approves multi-billion naira contracts (The Guardian)
- The funding aims to improve the country’s struggling grid supply through the purchase of major electricity transmission equipment.

Nigeria: SEC restates the role of the capital market (The Guardian)
- The SEC Director General has claimed that the capital market has the potential to achieve more in the areas of provision and long-term funds to develop the country’s infrastructure.

Nigeria: Westa Solar secures GBP1.5 million loan (BusinessDay)
- The financing, secured from the Austrian Development Bank and provided by the African-Austrian SME Investment Facility, aims to accelerate the development of solar projects to reduce energy costs and emissions.

Nigeria: Siemens power deal expected to take a major leap in the autumn (This Day)
- In September, electricity equipment is expected to start arriving from FGN Power Company in Germany, which upon installation should substantially improve the supply of electricity in the country.

Senegal: World Bank announced USD495 million in financing deals (Electricity Hub)
- The finances are to fund rural electricity, education, road access and climate-resilient infrastructure in the country.

Solar: WAPP Secretariat and International Solar Alliance (ISA) sign MoU  (ESI Africa)
- The MoU established mutual collaboration between the parties to more effectively exchange knowledge and build the capacity of WAAP member utilities in the solar sector. 

East Africa

Ethiopia: KenGen completes drilling of geothermal wells (Business Daily)
- The electricity producer has concluded the drilling of seven wells across the country as part of its diversification strategy to acquire new revenue sourcing through commercial drilling, geothermal consulting and related services across Africa. 

Kenya: Energy Ministry engages with IPPs on sector reform (ESI Africa)
- The Ministry of Energy has engaged in extensive negotiation sessions with 77 IPPs, which have established a pathway to the delivery of a 15% reduction in power tariffs.

Rwanda: AfDB finances electrification (Afrik21)
- The AfDB has announced a USD180 million loan to the country to finance a project which aims to electrify over 77,000 rural homes. 
 

Southern Africa

South Africa: What could a just transition mean for Mpumalanga? (ESI Africa)
-  Last week, hundreds of Mpumalanga residents gathered for the launch of a documentary which explored what a transition away from coal would mean for both the province and its people.

South Africa: SAWEA sets local manufacturing targets (ESI Africa)
- The association has reiterated its desire to push for wind sector industrialisation by advocating for increased local manufacturing.

Africa - other

Egypt: Scatec sponsors power plants (The Electricity Hub)
- The renewable energy provider has announced plans to refinance a non-recourse project debt for six power plants in the country with a combined capacity of 380MW.

Egypt: AMEA Power signs MoU for green ammonia production (Renewables Now)
- The Dubai-based clean power producer has agreed to produce 390,000 tonnes of green ammonia per annum for export purposes.

North Africa: CWP and Bechtel support energy transition (Energy Global)
- CWP has selected Bechtel to support the development of large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia facilities across North Africa.

Opinion article: Water electrolysis is a key player in the energy transition (ESI Africa)
- Recent article argues that an increased use of hydrogen electrolysers and implementation of water electrolysis could help African countries to accelerate towards renewable energy systems to support their economic and energy security.

Report: Record levels of private equity and venture capital pumped into Africa (QZ)
- According to a new report from the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, the total value of private capital deals in the continent reached a record high of USD7.4 billion in 2021, a 118% increase from 2020.

Solar: Sun Kin raises USD260 million (Sun King)
- The solar giant has announced its fundraising success, which includes USD100 million in primary investment for the company’s continued expansion.

Pacific

Fiji: PM Bainimarama reiterates country’s partnership with Australia (Pina)
- The PM has highlighted the Fijian government’s commitment to work closely with the country to address common challenges and to maximise resilient and sustainable recovery opportunities for the region.

Fiji: Court issues first ‘environmental crime’ sentence (Asia Pacific Report)
- A landmark case at the High Court fined Chinese resource development country Freesoul Limited FJD1 million for breaching two counts of Fiji’s Environmental Management Act.

New Zealand: Country commits to climate financing (Pina)
- The New Zealand government is to up its climate finance to USD1 billion over the next four years, with the Pacific receiving half of the funds.

New Zealand: Google exec backs solar pipeline (PV Magazine)
- Helios Energy has received investment from Google executive Urs Hölzle and is setting its sights on grid-scale solar developments. 

Rest of the world

Climate: Youth leading on climate finance (UNFCC)
- In a recent interview, environmental scientist and climate change activist Elizabeth Gulugulu discusses the importance of youth leadership and active participation in the lead up to COP27. 

Green hydrogen: Energy source could disrupt global trade and bilateral energy relations (IRENA)
- According to new IRENA anaylsis, rapid growth of the global hydrogen economy could bring substantial geoeconomic and geopolitical shifts and give rise to a new wave of interdependencies. 

Report: McKinsey release Global Energy Perspective 2022 report (McKinsey)
- Key takeaways from the report include projections that the demand for oil will peak in the next five years, largely due to an increase in the update of electric vehicles, and that gas demand is likely to increase up until 2035 – after which it will be subject to “large uncertainties”.

UK: Michael Gove approves first new coal mine in 30 years (CityAM)
- The UK Housing Secretary is expected to support plans to open a new colliery to help the country cut its reliance on Russian coal.
 

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