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The Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (Kosap) has released KSh500m ($4.6m) to 19 companies to support wider use of solar and clean cooking technology in off-grid areas. The financing will support the establishment of standalone solar systems and clean cooking solutions for households in 14 counties that are underserved by the national electricity grid. The disbursement, announced on 19 October, is part of the ambitious five-year Kosap project supported by the World Bank with $150m.

Goma-based renewable energy developer Nuru closed a funding round in early July, the proceeds of which will be used to start construction work on three solar hybrid metro-grids in Goma, Kindu, and Bunia.

Copenhagen-based start-up Solstroem has received a $150,000 convertible loan from Shell’s All On to roll out its carbon credit platform to Nigerian solar home system developers.

Independent power producer (IPP) Tatanga Energy is to develop nine solar mini-grids at schools and hospitals in eastern Zimbabwe for the Anglican Diocese of Manicaland.

Lagos-headquartered Nigerian Breweries has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with local commercial and industrial (C&I) developer Daystar Power Group for a solar PV and battery plant at its Lagos brewery and head office.

UK-based developer Globeleq announced this month that it has acquired a 74% stake in Nigerian commercial and industrial (C&I) power company CPGNL. CGPNL was owned by Clean Energy Group, which will retain 26% of the company, and used equipment supplied by Cummins. The company will be rebranded as Globeleq Power Solutions Nigeria Ltd (GPSN). GPSN has a portfolio of 12 operating gas power plants with combined capacity of 58MW in the south of the country.

The World Bank Group’s International Development Association on 28 February approved a $100m grant to support rural electrification, along with a $60m grant for a community development programme supporting projects among vulnerable populations. The $100m grant will support the Solar Energy in Local Communities (Soleil) project – also known as Nyakiriza – which aims to almost double the electrification rate nationwide.The Soleil project aims to connect more than 91,000 families, 4,000 small businesses, 500 schools and 400 health centres to mini-grids or standalone solar systems with combined capacity of around 17MW.

The European Union will provide E106m ($119m) for a clean energy programme to be implemented by National Water and Electricity Company. This includes E65m under a 25-year concessional loan from the European Investment Bank and a E41m grant from the European Union budget. The project will also be supported by E35.7m of financing from the World Bank. The project aims to develop a 20MW solar photovoltaic plant at Jambur near Banjul and 400km of distribution infrastructure.

The African Energy Live Data 2019 update shows that 9.6GW of net new capacity was added on the continent during the year. The figure includes off-grid and embedded plants in the public domain, as well as on-grid facilities. This is just over half of the capacity added in 2018 and significantly less than the five-year 2014-18 average of 13.2GW. The slowdown was widespread. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) excluding South Africa, 2.8GW was added, the lowest amount since 2014 and also significantly lower than the 2014-18 average of 3.8GW.

Italy’s Enel Green Power has partnered with First Solar-backed Powerhive to develop 100 mini-grids in Kenya with a combined capacity of 1MW. The Cloverfield project represents an investment of $12m, 93% of which will be provided by Enel and 7% by Powerhive. The portfolio has been developed by Powerhive in Kisii and Nyamira counties in western Kenya. Powerhive uses mobile phone technology to allow customers to prepay for power.

Mozambique-based off-grid solar company SolarWorks! has agreed a $2m multi-currency debt facility organised by specialist off-grid debt firm SunFunder and US-based currency hedging company MFX Solutions. SolarWorks! will use the facility for working capital to expand its operations in the country. The company has been active in Mozambique since 2011 and recently began operating in Malawi. It provides a range of solar devices, from basic systems comprising lights and charging points to more powerful systems for small businesses and middle-income households. The facility is MFX Solutions’ first in Mozambique.

UK-based off-grid utility BBOXX announced on 20 August that it has launched a pilot to provide the internet to customers in Rwanda. The company is using Wi-Fi hotspots established through a joint venture with Axiom Networks. Ten fixed hotspots have been established, powered using BBOXX solar systems, which are able to deliver internet in rural areas at 10-20Mbps.

London headquartered off-grid solar company BBOXX announced on 23 October that it has agreed a $5m loan facility with Essential Capital Consortium, a $50m social enterprise fund managed by Deutsche Asset Management that closed in March 2015. The loan will be used to expand the company’s operations in Rwanda. The loan facility will be managed by Atlas Mara’s Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR), which has a relationship with BBOXX.

Mini-grid financing facility CrossBoundary Energy Access (CBEA) has reached first close with commitments from the Rockefeller Foundation and Ceniarth. CBEA has raised $16m to invest in mini-grids serving around 170,000 people. The facility will initially target Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia, as markets that have supportive regulatory frameworks for mini-grids.

A significant market is emerging across the continent for renewables-based commercial and industrial (C&I) energy projects. In all but a handful of markets, the talk is of a potential that will soon be measured in gigawatts, rather than the usual dozens (at most) of megawatts of an established business. As Kenya-based Astonfield Solar’s chairman Ameet Shah puts it, the technology is still in its early days – as in some cases is the quality of its delivery to clients – but the C&I industry will reach lift-off even before the ‘transformational’ 24-hour storage becomes the norm.