Friday, 19 February

Dear <<First Name>>

Renewables and other clean energy solutions are of course only one part of resolving the climate crisis. Just flip through the pages of Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming and you’ll quickly be reminded of the myriad areas for action and opportunity.

But it is also important to continually remind ourselves that resolving the climate crisis is itself just one part of healing the planet. To help with that the UN yesterday released its new report, Making Peace with Nature, which calls for a radical and urgent rethink of our approach to nature to tackle the interconnected environmental crises of climate disruption, biodiversity loss and pollution.

Amid some gloomy facts and statistics, the report sends out a clear message of hope that by using the COVID-10 crisis as an impetus, we can rethink how society can accelerate the transformation to a sustainable future. And to do that means looking beyond GDP and other conventional metrics for measuring progress, so that by factoring in the true value of our natural capital - our soil, our air, our water, our geology - we can learn how to prosper sustainably.

Of course, this is not news to any of us - but I would recommend the UN’s report if you’re keen to brush up on the latest scientific research and get a handle on the current status of the world’s urgent issues and opportunities to solve them.

Cheers

Geoff Sinclair

Managing Director, Camco Clean Energy

West Africa

Nigeria: Distribution company Ikeja Electric to reward energy theft whistle-blowers (ESI)
- This incentive will see whistle-blowers rewarded from the reconnection penalty paid by the culprit. 

Southern Africa

South Africa: Government will issue a request for proposals for additional 2.6GW of wind and solar (PV-Tech)
- President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement in the annual state of the nation, saying that the RFP will address the future energy shortfalls as the country moves away from coal.

South Africa: High Court ruling will enable Eskom to increase tariffs (ESI)
- Decision will enable Eskom to collect a further ZAR10 billion in revenues and help it achieve financial sustainability.

East Africa

DRC: EUR327 million contract will see NuRAN build 2,000 solar-powered telecom masts in rural areas  (Afrik21)
- The agreement with Orange DRC will see a 2.75G network deployed in remote areas that will cover at least 10 million people.

Ethiopia: Government signs USD24 million off-grid electrification contract with Chinese and South Korean firms (The Independent)
- The project is aiming to electrify 25 rural towns and will benefit an estimated 145,000 people.

Kenya: Water utility seeking proposals for PV plant at water treatment site (PV-Magazine)
- Nyahururu Water and Sanitation Company has kicked off the tender for the construction of the PV facility. The deadline to express interest in the project is 23 February.

Africa - general

General: Winch Energy obtains USD16 million to finance 49 mini-grids (Afrik21)
- A new financing mechanism established with EDF, Misubishi and Meridiam will see new mini-grids built in Uganda and Sierra Leone.

General: AFSIA report indicates renewable targets are falling by the wayside (PV-Magazine) / (Africa Solar Outlook 2021) 
- Ambitious targets, patchy policy and uncertain market conditions have resulted in multiple countries missing their renewable energy targets.

Rest of World

Batteries: IHS Markit predicts 10GW of new energy storage systems will be deployed in 2021 (Energy Storage News)
- Demand from the US market and Asia is expected to drive capacity additions that are forecasted to be double the 2020 figures.

General: Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala appointed as new head of the World Trade Organization (Invest Africa)
- Okonjo-Iweala has made history be becoming the first woman and the first African to lead the organisation.

Solar: Global PV installations expected to surpass 150GW in 2021 (PV-Magazine)
- Deferred projects and strong demand in traditional markets expected to drive increase in capacity.

Currencies