Friday, 10 June

Dear <<First Name>>

Solar mini-grids are delivering transformational impact to communities across Africa, and in my opinion the wide-scale rollout of the tech cannot come fast enough. 
 
Take the Moyamba mini-grid project in Sierra Leone that Camco has invested in through the Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) as a case in point.  
 
The 1.3MW, 32 mini-grid project is being developed by the woman-led company, Energicity, after it won a competitive bid from the Rural Renewable Electrification Project, which was conceived in the wake of the 2014 Ebola outbreak to support Sierra Leone’s struggling health care system. 
 
In keeping with the project’s aims, a significant part of Moyamba’s portfolio is targeted towards strengthening the health system’s resilience via direct connection to hospitals and clinics, including the provision of a minimum of 6.6kWh/day to community health centres free of charge. The mini-grids are also suitable for productive uses of energy, such as milling and grinding, thus providing income-generating opportunities for local businesses and direct job opportunities for communities. 

And in a recent development, four of the project’s mini-grids have started providing clean and reliable electricity to nearby mobile phone towers that were previously powered by costly and polluting diesel gen sets. Energicity is now aiming to increase this number significantly to boost sustainable digital inclusion in rural Sierra Leone. 
 
This is of course just one of many examples of how mini-grids are delivering real impact to communities that need it most. But scaling mini-grids lies in large part with de-risking them and convincing investors who still hold onto the notion that mini-grids represent too small a market or are too risky, that it is instead a bankable sector that is ripe for investment. 

If you want to find out about how Camco-managed REPP is working to achieve this, visit https://repp.energy. 

Cheers 

Geoff Sinclair

Managing Director, Camco Clean Energy

West Africa

Nigeria: Jinko Solar partners with Palette Business Solutions (Afrik21)
- The partnership will enable the distribution of 50MWh of electricity storage systems to address the electricity demand surge.

Ghana: Ghana Grid Company (GRIDco) undergoes upgrade (ESI Africa)
- The energy transmission system will experience programmed upgrades to improve grid capacity and safeguard production for local consumption and export.

East Africa

Kenya: Government issues USD60.2 million subsidy to KPLC to enable tariff reductions (ESI Africa)
- The support from the National Treasury will enable Kenya Power and Lighting Company to cut electricity bills by 15%.

Kenya: Renewable energy producer Sosian Energy plans to commission Menengai II geothermal plant by end of 2022 (Afrik21)
- The 35Mwe plant will be located in the Rift Valley in western Kenya and will support the diversification of the country’s electricity mix.

Southern Africa

South Africa: The National Energy Regulator approves 16 renewable energy plants (Afrik21)
- The projects will contribute 211MW of installed capacity to Eskom.

Malawi: Hybrid solar battery power plant inaugurated by Malawi’s President (ESI Africa)
- The 20MW Golomoti Solar plant in Dedza combines bifacial solar panels with a first-of-its-kind utility-scale 5MW/10MWh battery energy storage system, which will support existing hydro plants and reduce the country’s reliance on diesel generation.

Africa - other

General: Infinity Energy and UAE-based Masdar looking to acquire independent wind power producer for an estimated USD1 billion (Afrik21)
- Netherlands-based Lekela Power is one of Africa’s largest IPPs and has a portfolio of eight projects, including a 150MW project under development in Ayitepa, Ghana.

MENA: IRENA and RCREEE sign MoU to accelerate energy transition across the region (ESI Africa)
- Both parties entered the agreement to increase renewable energy investments and adoption through policy and collaboration.

DRC: Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa’s issues EUR15 million call for proposals (Afrik21)
- The initiative aims to support off-grid solar providers to accelerate energy access to underserved communities in the country.

Pacific

Australia: Rio Tinto calls for 1140MW solar proposals (Renews.biz)
- The mining company has issued the request to provide its mining assets in Queensland with reliable power and help meet its climate change ambitions.

Australia: New rebate system to allow for rooftop solar for 1 million households (PV tech)
- New South Wales has begun registration of interest for project developers and businesses to facilitate the shift from the coal-fired power stations.

Rest of the world

Europe: Vestas signs new wind turbine contracts in Italy and Germany (Energy digital)
- Italian IPP, ERG, has ordered 101MW’s worth of turbines for its wind park in Sicily, while EnBW has signed a conditional order agreement for its 900MW He Dreiht offshore wind project.

India: Saatvik Solar wins 9.3MW order for Mauritian solar project (Renewables Now)
- The solar module manufacturer will produce and supply modules for the grid-connected PV power plant at Tamarind Falls.

USA: California Energy Commission provides USD750,000 to SoCalGas for renewable hydrogen development (Energy digital)
- The grant will fund research looking into producing low-cost hydrogen from biogas, wastewater plants or dairy farms as a feedstock.

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