Tag: minigrids

Mini Grids for Half a Billion people: World Bank Handbook

Mini Grids for Half a Billion people: World Bank Handbook

September 29, 2022 | ,

Solar mini grids can provide high-quality uninterrupted electricity to nearly half a billion people in unpowered or underserved communities and be a least-cost solution to close the energy access gap by 2030. But to realize the full potential of solar mini grids, governments and industry must work together to systemically identify mini grid opportunities, continue to drive costs down, and overcome barriers to financing, says a new World Bank report.

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Renewable energy outlook for South East Asia

Renewable energy outlook for South East Asia

September 21, 2022 |

Southeast Asia stands at a crossroads. Either it can continue its reliance on fossil fuels – more of which are coming from non-indigenous sources, thereby increasing exposure to volatile, and increasingly expensive, global commodity markets – or the region can utilise the ample, affordable and indigenous local renewable energy resource in an energy transition pathway.

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Powering Electric Two- and Three-Wheelers with Rural Minigrids in Nigeria and India

Powering Electric Two- and Three-Wheelers with Rural Minigrids in Nigeria and India

May 4, 2022 |

A new report from RMI, Factor[e], and UK-charity Shell Foundation shows that a growing renewable minigrid industry and a booming market for two- and three-wheeled electric vehicles opens the door for minigrid-powered EVs to become the option of first resort for families and businesses with the ability to invest in motorized transport. The study concludes that small-format EVs available today can compete with fossil-fueled alternatives at a wide range of energy prices.

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Various policies are promoting solar uptake in Nigeria: NEP’s Anita Otubu

Various policies are promoting solar uptake in Nigeria: NEP’s Anita Otubu

March 31, 2022 |

The total energy access gap is pretty huge in Nigeria. Even for those who do have access to power, the power supply is unreliable and unstable. Thus, there is a lot that needs to be done. The federal government of Nigeria has taken huge steps towards bridging the existing energy access gap. A number of policies and regulations have been introduced to promote solar power in Nigeria to not take over but supplement the main grid.

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InfraCo Africa and RVE.SOL to invest in 22 SOLAR mini grids in Kenya

InfraCo Africa and RVE.SOL to invest in 22 SOLAR mini grids in Kenya

July 8, 2021 |

InfraCo Africa and Rural Village Energy Solutions (RVE.SOL) signed a joint shareholders agreement to invest $8 million for assisting the expansion of RVE.SOL’s multi-sector KUDURA Power East Africa (KPEA) business in Kenya. The company intends to build 22 mini-grids using solar PV in Kenya’s Busia County.

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An Emerging Market: Opportunities and Challenges in Africa’s Solar Segment

An Emerging Market: Opportunities and Challenges in Africa’s Solar Segment

March 27, 2021 |

Africa has seen increasing uptake of solar, especially in the northern part of the continent. In fact, solar power is becoming a popular alternative to fossil fuel-based energy generation and it is supplementing hydropower in countries where water resources are scarce. It is gaining traction across the utility scale, commercial and industrial as well as micro- and mini-grid segments.

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Senegal issues tender for 133 solar mini grids

Senegal issues tender for 133 solar mini grids

January 11, 2021 |

The Senegalese Rural Electrification Agency (ASER) has announced tenders for supplying mini-grids for the electrification of 117 villages through solar power. The project implementation is being undertaken by the Senegalese Ministry of Oil and Energy. Further, it is being financially supported by the Islamic Development Bank and the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development.

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Lessons from the proliferating mini-grid incentive programs in Africa

Lessons from the proliferating mini-grid incentive programs in Africa

January 1, 2021 |

Given the early stage of nearly every mini-grid market in Africa, it is likely that the sector would benefit less from competition than from clear subsidies, bankable regulation, and capacity building. This would support a scale-up phase in the market, which could bring new market entrants, drive costs down, and build the capacity of regulators to allocate market opportunity efficiently.

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Quality infrastructure key for smart mini-grids

Quality infrastructure key for smart mini-grids

December 16, 2020 |

Mini-grids are complex systems with different suppliers, they are developed for different applications and there is often high regulatory uncertainty regarding their installation and operation. The sustainable market growth and long-term profitability of mini-grid systems requires Quality Infrastructure.

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