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Friday, 03 September

Dear <<First Name>>

The benefits of energy access cannot be overstated. As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon once said, “Energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, social equity, and environmental sustainability”. It enables people to study, get a job and start a business, and leads to better health and improved wellbeing. It is of course no wonder that universal access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy is so heavily embedded in the 2030 sustainable development agenda.

But just how is the world expected to deliver on this most important target before the end of the decade? In Sub-Saharan Africa alone there are around 600 million people still living without electricity, and for many of these people the option of rolling out the national grid is both slow and expensive, particularly in rural areas. Very often off-grid tech like solar home systems and renewable energy mini-grids are a much better answer; but for such a disparate and geographically dispersed population, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, meaning there is a constant need for flexibility and innovation.

In our latest Talking Points interview, we talk to UK-based Chris Longbottom whose solar-powered battery rental business, Mobile Power, has become a beacon of innovation, delivering power to some of West Africa’s most underserved communities. The interview makes for a terrific read and for anyone interested in finding out what it took to bring Chris’s novel concept to life, I would highly recommend it.

Cheers

Geoff Sinclair

Managing Director, Camco Clean Energy

REPP news
Talking Points: Mobile Power CEO Chris Longbottom discusses the power of a pay-per-use battery rental model to provide electricity to off-grid customers in West Africa.
Story of the week
South African utility Eskom has just launched a pilot programme for businesses to purchase renewable energy. The energy is being generated by Eskom-owned wind and hydro facilities which will allow a maximum of 300GWh per annum to customers, provide customers with a 24-hour blended renewable supply and assist businesses that have corporate renewable energy commitments.

West Africa

Benin: SparkMeter digitises the management of green mini-grids (Afrik21)
- A USD1 million grant from the US Trade and Development Agency has enabled the project to commence, which aims to benefit up to 100,000 people.

Nigeria: Daystar Power completes installation of 800kWp rooftop solar system for factory (Afrik21)
- The system will be able to supply 50% of the UAC Foods factory’s daily needs, which is expected to reduce the facility’s energy costs by 30%.

Togo: Lomé-Tokoin International Airport launches tender for 1.8MW solar plant (PV-Magazine)
- The project has an estimated cost of around USD2.4 million and interested developers have until October 8 to submit their offers.

East Africa

Rwanda: GET.invest and GIZ partner to launch off-grid initiative (Afrik21)
- The initiative, which aims to promote the financing of off-grid systems using local currency, will run until the end of 2021 and has been launched in collaboration with two local banks.

Southern Africa

South Africa: Eskom to invest USD7.3 billion in wind and solar farms over the next nine years (Afrik21)
- This funding will kickstart the utility’s transition to operating renewable energy assets and implementation of the first phase is scheduled for between 2022 and 2023.

South Africa: 34.5MW Wesley-Ciskei wind farm in Eastern Cape connected to the grid (ESI)
- This EDF Renewables project was part of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) Bid Window 4.

South Africa: Eskom launches Renewable Energy Tariff pilot programme (ESI)
- The programme aims to enable customers to source a blended electricity supply, whereby up to 100% of their electricity could come from renewable sources.

Africa - general

General: New global partnership offers green off-grid providers emergency funding (Afrik21)
- The partnership includes 16 governments, foundations and investors that have invested USD80 million in the Energy Access Assistance Fund, which hopes to secure access to electricity for at least 20 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa.

General: Trine and Solarise Africa sign EUR5 million infrastructure framework agreement (ESI)
- The new framework assesses how to advance investment across multiple industries, including renewable energy, in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Rwanda.

General: Global solar provider Trina Solar expands presence in East and Central Africa (Engineering News)
- Trina Solar has appointed Solinc East Africa in Kenya as an official distributor to supply its products and solutions in East Africa.

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