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Off-grid solar companies BBOXX and DC Go announced a partnership on 19 June targeting Lesotho, South Africa and Swaziland. Johannesburg-based DC Go is already active in the region and will use BBOXX’s Pulse platform, which integrates system monitoring and payment with service and operations. The pair will particularly target informal settlements in rural and urban areas.

German renewable energy developer BayWa r.e. announced on 20 June the commissioning of four solar photovoltaic (PV) diesel hybrid systems in Dakar. The project is the company’s first large solar sector project in Africa. The systems, which have a total installed capacity of 800kWp, were installed by Dakar-based Dieng & Co Engineering SAS on behalf of the government on four new ministerial buildings and on carports. Planning and supply of components was carried out by BayWa r.e., which also provided on-site support during construction and commissioning through its off-grid subsidiary OneShore Energy.

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.

German solar developer SunEQ announced on 18 June that it has reached financial close with the Development Bank of Namibia for a 5MW solar PV project at the Ohorongo Cement factory in the Otjozondjupa region. The plant will comprise approximately 20,000 crystalline silicon modules mounted on single-axis trackers and the developer says it will be the first utility-scale project in Namibia to generate solar power for industrial use.

UK-based off-grid utility BBOXX announced on 7 June that it has signed an agreement with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that will see the company provide power to 2.5m people. BBOXX began operations alongside energy system supplier Victron Energy in Goma, on the border with Rwanda, earlier this year and will expand its operations in the city, as well as Bukavu at the southern end of Lake Kivu and the capital Kinshasa, where it has partnered with Orange Energie.

Off-grid renewable energy and communications company Winch Energy and Mauritius-based internet service provider iWayAfrica on 11 June announced a partnership to launch the Winch Hub in Uganda. The project will use 20-feet-long containerised solar kiosks, called Winch Hubs, with an integrated very small aperture terminal (VSAT) – a satellite communications system – to provide energy services and broadband connectivity. “Around 80% of Uganda is unserved by reliable means of electricity, with around 65% of the population remaining without access to the internet,” Winch director Tom Wrigley said.

The Nordic Development Fund (NDF) and Energy and Environment Partnership covering Southern and East Africa (EEP Africa) on 15 May launched the latest grant window, seeking applications from early-stage off-grid and on-grid clean energy projects in the active development phase in Southern and East Africa. EEP Africa is a multi-donor fund hosted by NDF which provides early-stage grant funding to innovative clean energy projects, technologies and business models.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the African Union signed an agreement in Paris on 25 May establishing a strategic partnership to work towards a more secure, sustainable and clean energy future for African countries. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by IEA executive director Fatih Birol and African Union commissioner for infrastructure, energy, ICT and tourism Amani Abou-Zeid. The MoU provides a general framework for cooperation on activities and projects that advance shared interests in areas of energy security, energy statistics, energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable economic development.

The South Korean government and the African Development Bank (AfDB) on 22 May signed a letter of intent to launch the Korea-Africa Energy Investment Facility to support the New Deal on Energy for Africa, which aims to achieve universal access to energy.The agreement was signed at a Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation meeting held during the AfDB’s annual meetings in Busan, South Korea. The facility will see the AfDB oversee project development with member countries using $600m provided by South Korea over a five-year period.

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe is installing a 0.45MW solar plant at its Willowvale offices in Harare as its sister company Distributed Power Africa (DPA) rolls out $250m of investment to provide solar energy for industrial, commercial and domestic use. The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority granted Econet a 25-year licence in March to construct, own and operate a solar power plant.DPA is part of Cumii Technologies, a subsidiary of the Econet Group.

The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources has invited expressions of interest by 22 May from consultants to support the development of off-grid renewable energy projects. The contract is to be financed by the African Development Bank through the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa as part of a project to encourage the development of off-grid renewable energy networks.

Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa has announced it is installing solar plants at 11 of its sites in the country.The plants will have a combined capacity of 10.4MW, expected to produce around 18GWh/yr of electricity, and are scheduled to be completed by February 2019. South Africa’s Mulilo Group will build the facilities under a 25-year power purchase agreement. Investec was lead arranger for the project. Coca- Cola also uses a 1.33MWp solar plant at its bottling facility in Accra, Ghana.

Investment company Kupanda Holdings, a joint venture between Kupanda Capital and TPG Growth, and the TPG-managed Rise Fund have announced seed investment in off-grid financing platform Nithio Holdings. Nithio aims to use geospatial data and financial expertise to develop off-grid power companies across Africa. Nithio’s sister company through Kupanda Capita, fraym, uses survey and satellite data to provide geospatial and planning products to companies operating in Africa.

The world is not on track to meet the United Nations’ seventh Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030, according to Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report. The report, which was formerly the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative’s Global Tracking Framework, was launched on 2 May at the SE4All Forum in Lisbon. The report is published by the World Bank with input from the International Energy Agency, the International Renewable Energy Agency, the United Nations Statistics Division and the World Health Organisation.

Portugal’s RVE.Sol has signed an agreement with the county government of Busia under which the company will finance, build and operate mini-grids across the county, according to the Lusophone Renewable Energy Association. The project aims to reach 100% electrification in the county by 2030, and RVE.Sol is expected to build 15 solar photovoltaic and battery-powered mini-grids with diesel back-up in 2018 and 40 mini-grids in 2019. The systems will serve 2,800 customers, including 300 small businesses.