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More than 800MW of additional off-grid solar capacity is expected to come online over the next five years, according to the African Energy Live Data platform, with large installations in Chad, Morocco and South Africa. Falling costs and an easing of regulations means the financing gap with conventional power is narrowing – and similar trends can be seen in the smaller mini-grid sector.

‘Last mile’ access software and hardware provider Okra Solar has secured fresh debt and equity in a series-A round of financing intended to scale up its mesh-grid technology for off-grid projects in Nigeria.

Kenya's  Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (Rerec) has commissioned the Mageta Island solar PV mini-grid in Bondo, Siaya county.

State utility Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has given African Energy an update on the progress of procurement and project milestones for the Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (Kosap).  Under the first phase of the World Bank Group-funded project KPLC will implement 89 mini-grids in eight counties.

United Kingdom-based developer Globeleq announced on 11 January that will acquire a 74% stake in Nigeria commercial and industrial (C&I) power company CPGNL.

UK-based Azuri Technologies and First Bank of Nigeria Ltd announced a partnership on 7 February to expand access to electricity in Nigeria. The agreement will see Azuri’s solar home system packages co-branded and co-marketed by FirstBank. Customers will be able to use First Bank’s Firstmonie agent network and mobile payment platform to pay for their solar systems.

UK-based off-grid solar company Azuri Technologies has partnered with Chinese television company StarTimes to expand its offering in Kenya. The partnership will provide customers with a solar home system including a 24-inch LED television with free-to-air channels and up to 40 StarTimes channels delivered using a TV aerial or satellite dish. Systems also include four LED lights, a USB charging point and a rechargeable torch and radio. Customers pay a deposit of KSh4,999 ($49.99) and a daily fee of KSh99 over 130 weeks, providing up to six hours of StarTimes TV.

French telecoms provider Orange has announced a programme to provide solar power paid for by its mobile money scheme, which will pilot in three West African countries from November. Orange said the programme aimed to help individual customers or communities generate electricity where no traditional electricity grids are available. The project will be piloted in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Cameroon from November 2016. Orange is providing solar kits or microgrids to rural communities to generate electricity.

The government signed an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on 9 July to develop 90MW of solar power under the Scaling Solar programme. Togo is the sixth country after Zambia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Uzbekistan to join Scaling Solar, the IFC said.The accord follows an initial agreement signed in 2017, under which the IFC funded studies of potential sites and the absorptive capacity of the national electricity grid.

Energie du Mali (EDM) has issued a general procurement notice for the construction of the Djenné and Talo mini-hydropower plants on the Bani River, the principal tributary of the Niger River in Mali, as well as for institutional support and project management services. Tenders are expected to be launched in October. EDM has also invited expressions of interest by 30 April from consultants to manage and oversee the construction of the Talo project and its associated distribution grid.

Finland’s Nocart has signed contracts worth €12.9m ($14.6m) to supply two off-grid power plants in Malawi and one in Nigeria. In Malawi, the company will provide a 2MW solar-diesel hybrid plant with 1MWh energy storage and a 4MW solar-diesel hybrid with 2MWh storage. The Nigerian plant will be a 1MW hybrid using solar power and sawdust. Nocart uses a software-controlled power management unit that manages generation from multiple sources and technologies to provide a stable power supply.

Helius Power Company invites prequalification applications by 12 March for the implementation of a rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) plant with an installed capacity of around 12MWp and associated network at the Tema Free Zones Enclave. Helius, the power generation subsidiary of Southern Utilities, part of Ghanaian conglomerate LMI Holdings, said it has secured financing for the project, which is to be installed on the 92,000m2 roof space of Mega Warehouse, owned by LMI subsidiary International Warehouse Company.

Fenix International announced this month that it has gained nearly 40,000 customers in the 11 months since it began selling its solar home systems in Zambia. The milestone was reached significantly faster than the company had expected and is one of the first successful large-scale expansions into southern Africa by a pay-as-you-go solar company. Fenix International Zambia managing director John Foye told African Energy that by comparison the company’s main competitor Vitalite had around 15,000 customers, while the other solar suppliers SupaMoto Energy and d.light were much smaller.

German off-grid solar company Mobisol has partnered with internet of things (IoT) specialist Aeris to support remote access to data from its systems. The agreement comes as residential off-grid solar companies continue to move away from simple keycode-activated systems towards more sophisticated monitoring and management operations as the cost of IoT connected products has decreased.The agreement will mean that Mobisol uses Aeris’ AerPort connectivity management platform to receive data from its systems in real time.

Office National d’Electricité (ONE) is close to finalising a management contract for rural electrification in northern Senegal.