Page 12 - AfrElec Week 38

AfrElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
AfrElec
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres also took a swipe at the “dying fossil fuel industry” and said it was still not too late to keep the global rise in temperatures below the benchmark figure of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“But it will require fundamental transformations in all aspects of society — how we grow food, use land, fuel our transport and power our economies,” said Guterres.
“We need to link climate change to a new model of development — fair globalisation — with less suffering, more justice, and harmony between people and the planet.”
The UN says mankind must reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to about 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures to stave off the worst-case predictions of scientists.
HYDRO
Construction of Zambia’s Kafue Gorge HPP suspended
Construction work at the 750MW Kafue Gorge hydroelectric plant in Zambia has come to a halt over what the contractor termed as “difficulties beyond its control.”
China’s state-owned Sinohydro company sent out a notice to the over 5,000 dam workers, stating the suspension of its activities on the project site due to unnamed reasons, however, the Zambian press says the Chinese company’s services were not paid for.
The suspension has posed a major challenge to Zambia’s energy sector as the construction of the Kafue Gorge dam and hydroelectric power plant is one of the multiple projects Zambia had initiated to reduce its dependence on neighbouring countries for its electricity supply.
The project being implemented through a public-private partnership (PPP) signed between the Zambian government and Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation
(Zesco) is expected to require a total investment of $2bn for the implementation covering the costs of engineering, procurement and construction of the facilities.
The project, awarded to Sinohydro in 2015, is being financed by the Zambian government through a contracted loan from Exim Bank of China.
The dam is on the Kafue River, the main tributary of the Zambezi River. It has a built reservoir 55 km upstream of the convergence point between the two rivers, and more than 17 km upstream is the Kafue Gorge Upper dam, which has a capacity of 900MW.
With Just 25 percent of Zambia’s population having access to electricity, the country currently has an installed capacity of 1,948MW, however it has a potential to produce approximately 6,000MW of hydro power.
RENEWABLES
Daystar Power installs
100th solar energy system
in Nigeria
Daystar Power has successfully installed its 100th solar power system since the company’s foundation in 2017 by opening a solar energy system at a branch of Unity Bank in Bauchi, Nigeria.
This corresponds to a growth of 733% in the number of installed systems compared to the previous year, and a 20-fold increase in the total installed power capacity, from 291 kW last September to 5.6MW this month.
By shifting electricity supply from diesel generators to environmentally-friendly solar hybrid solutions, Daystar Power has been able to reduce C02 emission by more than 360 metric tons to date. Overall, Daystar Power’s innovative power solutions consistently save its customers 20-30% of their power costs while reducing noise and air pollution.
Daystar Power works with West Africa’s leading lenders, including Ecobank, Wema Bank, Unity Bank and Access Bank. Besides banking and manufacturing, clients in the agricultural as well as education and health sectors have also indicated strong interest in adopting renewable energy, adding to Daystar Power’s client base. In addition to Nigeria, systems have been installed in Ghana, where Daystar Power opened a subsidiary in April.
Christian Wessels, founder and executive at Daystar Power, said: “With our full-service offerings we cover not only installing the photovoltaic systems but also providing maintenance in the long-term to ensure long- term operations – a rapidly growing demand of businesses and institutions in West Africa. I therefore assume that we can double the amount of installed systems to 200 by the end of this year.”
Angola to install 30,000 off- grid solar PV systems
The Angolan government plans to install about 30,000 solar photovoltaic systems in rural areas to produce 600MW of electricity in the Central African nation.
According to Angolan Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges,
the government was considering increasing the rate of access to electricity, especially in rural areas. Currently, less than 40% of rural communities have access to electricity.
By 2022, the government plans to install 30,000 solar off-grid systems that will be able to produce up to 600MW.
“There is a need to create a mechanism to provide funding for rural electrification. And the National Rural Electrification Agency is the instrument provided for by the General Electricity Act, which interacts with private investors,” João Baptista Borges said.
He said solar energy is increasingly cost-effective and is currently a solution for the country’s electrification, especially in individual systems that can be installed in villages.
Baptista Borges also said that a set of regulations is being finalised to facilitate the participation of the private sector, especially in the regulation of tariffs and production to be adopted in renewable energies.
The African Development Bank (AfDB)
is supporting this initiative through its Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA). The bank lent the Angolan government $1mn to be used to fund the Angola Renewable Energy Program (AREP).
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Week 38 25•September•2019