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The Bushveld Energy solar PV and vanadium battery project fits into a wider move to develop the storage market in South Africa, which was discussed in a 9 December webinar hosted by the World Bank Group featuring representatives from Customised Energy Solutions, Mintek, CSIR Energy Research Centre, Industrial Development Corporation and the South African Energy Storage Association (SAESA).

Contracts to build solar plants in South Africa and Nigeria show how large data projects are being helped by increasingly supple regulation and favourable economics, writes Marc Howard

Lekela Power has been developing a battery project in Senegal for several years to help with the integration of variable renewable power onto the grid. Studies continue, but the company is planning a 40MW/160MWh battery to facilitate load-shifting of renewables to peak times. The project is linked to the 158.7MW Taiba N’Diaye wind farm, which is due to come online by year-end (AE 447/15).

Frazium Energy has signed a contact with the Eswatini government to develop a solar PV and storage project. The first phase is expected to consist of a 25-30MW solar PV component with a 100MW lithium-ion battery, supplying about 100GWh/yr at a cost of $115m, according to chief executive Robert Frazer.

In a 5 October update, the World Bank Group (WBG) said the Comoros Solar Energy Integration Platform project had been cancelled and all financing agreements terminated. The project was approved by the WBG board in June 2020 and a financing agreement was signed by the WBG’s International Development Association (IDA) and the Comoros government in August 2020.

Demand for commercial and industrial (C&I) power projects is surging, particularly in eastern and southern Africa. In key markets such as South Africa and Kenya, customers have opted for C&I solutions that not only offer cheaper tariffs but also greater reliability than the grid. These imperatives have also prompted a shift to C&I in the West African market, where the sector has seen considerable activity this year although market players still deem it to be ‘early days’.

The remaining contracts for the 20MWp Jambur solar PV project are “expected to be signed in the last quarter of this year, after which design and construction will begin”, National Water and Electricity Company (Nawec) senior power engineer Ebrima A Bah told African Energy.

CrossBoundary Energy (CBE) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Eramet Group subsidiary Grande Côte Opérations (GCO) to develop a 13MW solar PV system and 8MW battery at its mining facilities in the Diogo Industrial Site.

 The state Public Utilities Corporation (PUC) has told African Energy that two solar photovoltaic developments have been commissioned: the 1.9MWp of aggregate generation capacity at the Ile de Romainville Democratisation and the 5MWp Ile de Romainville South PV plants; the latter also features 3.4MWh of battery storage.

Construction will be complete at Winch Energy’s solar PV and battery storage mini-grid development on Bunjako Island by end-September, Winch Energy Uganda country manager Alex Wanume told African Energy. The mini-grids, with an aggregate capacity of 0.128MWp, will bring power to 500 homes and businesses. Development of the project was first announced in June 2018.

Changes to the regulations on which power plants need to have a generation licence have been hailed as the most significant change for the industry in a generation, but investors are still trying to assess what the possibilities might be, writes Dan Marks.

The developers of the newly-commissioned 100MW Kipeto wind power plant have said they will start installing a back-up battery storage unit next year to stabilise electricity supply into the national grid.

Commercial and industrial (C&I) solar company Sustainable Power Solutions Investments on 23 August announced a $22m investment from parent company CDC Group’s Gridworks and $18m from South African investment company New GX Capital. The transaction will make Gridworks the majority shareholder in SPS.

CDC Group’s Gridworks and South Africa's New GX Capital announced on 23 August investments worth $40m in commercial and industrial solar company Sustainable Power Solutions Investments. 

The political centre of gravity is shifting away from coal-fired plants in South Africa and Eskom hopes to use the run-in to the COP26 climate change conference in November to generate interest in its plan to retire some plants early, but much remains to be resolved if its ambitions are to be realised, writes Dan Marks.