Friday, 26 March

Dear <<First Name>>

Transitioning to a low-carbon economy powered by clean and renewable energy is just that: a transition. Ever since the first Industrial Revolution fossil fuels have driven economic growth and - let’s not forget - transformed our prospects and living conditions for the better. 

Shifting away from something that has for centuries enabled modern living standards is very difficult and requires nothing short of system change - and that’s not something you can do overnight. The trouble is, we don’t have that many nights left. 

So it was with exasperation - if not surprise - that I read this week that 60 of the world’s biggest commercial and investment banks have reportedly invested USD3.8tn in fossil fuel companies since the Paris Agreement in 2015. Even in 2020 - which saw a 9% drop in fossil fuel demand due to the pandemic - investments were higher than they were in 2016.

Public and private sector investment in clean energy solutions is critical for scaling technologies and driving down greenhouse gas emissions. And make no mistake, the sector is growing very rapidly. But with fossil fuel investments running so clearly in the wrong direction, it makes the challenge our industry is working so hard to overcome all the more difficult to achieve.

Cheers

Geoff Sinclair

Managing Director, Camco Clean Energy

West Africa

Nigeria: Government plans to invest USD3 billion in the energy sector over the next two years (Green Building Africa)
- This investment is expected to end electricity subsidies by December 2021 and increase the amount of power transported from 4,900MWp to 7,000MWp.

Nigeria: Nigerian Breweries commissions 663.6kWp solar plant at one of its factories (Brand News Day)
- The facility will be managed by CrossBoundary Energy, who will operate it for a 15-year period.

Nigeria: Power generation falls below 4,000MWp as hydropower output tumbles (Punch)
- Output fell to just 3,657MWp due to water management constraints and low load demand by the distribution companies.

Togo: Construction of the 50MWp Blitta solar power plant iscompleted (Energy Mix Report)
- This power plant will cost an estimated USD135 million and will enable the electrification of 600,000 households.

East Africa

Kenya: Solar power proves its worth to the flower industry (ESI)
- Solar power grows increasingly popular with the energy-intensive industry and is found useful in both lowering costs and aligning with government objectives.

Southern Africa

Malawi: SolarAid launches pilot to electrify entire village (PV-Magazine)
- It is hoped that the template of this pilot, which enables householders to buy or lease on a PAYG basis, will be used across rural communities in Africa.

South Africa: 254MWp of renewable energy added to grid through UK funding (ESI)
- This low carbon transition, funded by UK Climate Investments, has provided clean energy to nearly 200,000 homes per year.

Africa - general

General: Africa saw a 12% increase in electricity access rate between 2015 and 2019 (Energy Mix Report)
- Thanks to instrumental support from the AfDB, access rates increased from 42% in 2015 to 54% in 2019.

General: The AfDB explores combining green banks and national climate funds (ESI)
- A recent partnership between the AfDB and Climate Investment Funds aims to highlight the potential upside impacts of combining these institutions in order to accelerate green financing.

General: European companies join the RES4Africa organisation (Engineering News)
- EDP Renewables, Schneider Electric and Vestas have expanded their support to all activities of the  Renewable Energy Solutions for Africa Foundation (RES4Africa) to support Africa on its path towards just and sustainable energy.

General: AfDB and Canada partner to create USD104.8 million climate fund (ESI)
- The Canada-African Development Bank Climate Fund (CACF) will provide concessional loans to climate change-related projects with a strong gender-responsive component.

Rest of World

General: Fossil fuels found accountable for millions of deaths (Engineering News)
- Fossil fuels’s marked contribution to air pollution has been deemed responsible for at least 8.7 million deaths since 2018, according to a recently published scientific study.

Share this newsletter!

Currencies