WHAT have we
been up to
with the sun?

• As anticipated, 2018 was a pivotal year for PV installations in Middle East and North Africa, writes Josefin Berg, Research and Analysis Manager at IHS Markit. PV Magazine's end-of-year estimates show that approximately 3.6 GW of PV systems were installed in the region in 2018, compared to less than 1 GW in 2017.

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Jan 17 2019

• The African Development Bank has approved a $1.5 million grant from its Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), to assist Ghana’s renewable energy investment drive. The bank stated that this grant will support the government’s efforts to overcome technical, financial, regulatory and institutional barriers to scaling-up renewable energy investments in the country. The project, which is part of the Bank-led Climate Investment Fund (CIF) and the Scaling-up Renewable Energy Programme (SREP) Investment Plan for Ghana, will complement the bank’s effort in the Ghana Energy Development and Access Programme (GEDAP). The SEFA grant will fund broad components: the technical/commercial/regulatory and feasibility studies, aimed at providing detailed renewable energy resource studies, grid integration studies and regulatory texts, and resources and public sector skills and capacity development.

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Sep 25 2018

• The Middle East and Africa is set to enjoy a year-on-year PV demand increase of 170%, according to GTM Research. In its latest regional breakout, deployment is expected to land at 3.6GW this year spiking to 20GW in 2020. Cumulatively the region will install 83.7GW in the period 2018-2023. According to the report’s author, Ben Attia, there are currently 12.3GW of utility-scale solar contracted or under construction and a further 21GW in the pre-contract phase. Major utility-scale tender programmes in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE have boosted numbers and Attia expects Africa to contribute more than 6.4GW from 2020 onwards. Saudi and the UAE are expected to account for half of all the additional solar capacity installed out to 2023.

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Aug 17 2018

• On Thursday, the World Bank revealed that in fiscal year 2018, 32.1% of its financing had climate co-benefits – already exceeding the target set in 2015 that 28% of its lending volume would be climate-related by 2020. “We have not just exceeded our climate targets on paper, we have transformed the way we work with countries and are seeing major transitions to renewable energy, clean and resilient transport systems, climate-smart agriculture and sustainable cities,” said World Bank CEO, Kristalina Georgieva. This amounted to a record-setting $20.5 billion in climate-related finance delivered in the last fiscal year, the result of an institution-wide effort to mainstream climate considerations into all development projects.

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Jul 20 2018

• The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$50 million loan for small-scale renewable energy projects in Zambia, after recent droughts caused a serious electricity supply deficit due to the country’s heavy reliance on hydropower. This comes on top of the US$52.5 million in financing approved by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in February as part of a financing framework. Zambia’s Government launched the Renewable Energy Feed-in-Tariff (REFiT) policy in 2017 to support private investments for small-scale <20MW renewable projects, driven by the hydropower deficit. The ‘Global Energy Transfer Feed-in Tariffs’ (GETFiT) Zambia Programme was then brought in to facilitate the implementation of the REFiT Policy aiming to finance 200MW of renewable energy projects. The GETFiT programme will be co-financed by the GCF and AfDB along with other yet to be determined co-financers.

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Jul 12 2018

• Wind and solar could provide half of the world’s energy generation by 2050 on the back of continually declining technology costs, particularly in battery energy storage, according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The 150-page New Energy Outlook (NEO) 2018 report predicts that the future of the global electricity system will be dominated by tumbling lithium-ion battery prices. These have already fallen 80% per MWh since 2010 and will continue to decline as electric vehicle manufacturing builds up through the 2020s.

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Jun 19 2018

• The Desert to Power collaboration between the African Development Bank (ADB), the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Africa50 investment fund aims to build 10,000 MW of solar projects across the dry, sunny region. That would be enough to bring solar-generated electricity to 250 million people, including 90 million through off-grid solutions, which the organisations claim will enable the development of agriculture. Just 42% of people have access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. Green Climate Fund executive director Howard Bamsey said the needs expressed by countries in the region were driving the initiative. “Sahel countries have identified the potential of solar power to bring green energy to people across the region,” said Bamsey. “Renewable energy investment is a priority in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.” The organisations agreed to share ideas and resources to make solar power available throughout the Sahel region, with the aim of transforming African deserts into new sources of renewable energy.

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May 31 2018

• The speed of global renewable energy adoption needs to increase by at least a factor of six if the world is to meet the goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement, but which would also result in the growth of the global economy and global welfare, according to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency. The new report published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Global Energy Transformation: A Roadmap to 2050, was launched at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue being held on Tuesday and Wednesday at Germany’s Federal Foreign Office. According to the report, cumulative energy system investment would need to be increased by 30% through to 2050 in favor of supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency — from around $93 trillion under current and planned policies, up to $120 trillion. This investment figure also requires $18 trillion be directed towards power grids and energy flexibility — double that of current and planned policies.

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Apr 18 2018

• The government of Zambia has issued a Request for Qualification (RfQ) for up to 100MW of solar under the first round of the GET FiT Zambia programme. German development bank KfW, which is representing the Zambian government, is implementing the tender on behalf of the Ministry of Energy. The capacity will become available via a reverse bid, competitive auction process. The maximum project size will be 20MW and each applicant can apply for up to two projects. A maximum of 20 projects and bidders will be shortlisted and invited to submit full technical and financial Bids during a Request for Proposal (RfP) stage. In December 2017, GET FiT Zambia became the official implementation programme for the Zambian Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff (REFiT) Strategy, which was formally launched by the Ministry of Energy in October 2017.

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Apr 10 2018

• Lebanon could reconfigure its laws and regulations to allow private sector actors to generate renewable energy for sale to the grid, it emerged as the Middle Eastern country opened up its first solar-plus-storage tender process. The Government of Lebanon is seeking to enter power purchase agreements (PPAs) for renewable energy supply and has called on “private investors and companies interested” to submit expressions of interest (EOI) to deliver multi-megawatt solar PV projects with co-located energy storage. PPAs will be bought by Electricité du Liban (EDL), Lebanon’s main electricity supplier, on behalf of the Lebanese Republic Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW). It was made clear the government wants to buy up the electricity supply, not to own the assets themselves.

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Apr 10 2018

• Madagascar is the third African country to join the Scaling Solar programme, with the planned 30-40MW solar facility envisaged to help ease daily interruptions of power service. Other Scaling Solar tenders also underway are in Senegal and Ethiopia, with a second round underway in Zambia. The World Bank highlighted that the island nation suffers from frequent power outages, and under one fifth of the population has access to electricity. In the Bank’s Doing Business Report, Madagascar was ranked 187 out of 189 countries regarding the difficulty, delay, and cost of getting electricity. The planned Scaling Solar project will provide a reliable alternative to expensive diesel generators, drawing on an abundant source of renewable energy.

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Mar 2 2018

• IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the government of Canada has formed a financial partnership that will utilise public funding to generate private sector investments to spur renewable energy in Sub-Saharan Africa. The program, known as Canada-IFC Renewable Energy Program for Africa, will feature the Canadian government contributing US$122 million that the IFC will use to catalyze private sector investment in renewable energy by offering concessional financing mixed with IFC’s own account resources to mitigate a variety of risks that can deter private investment in renewable energy.

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Feb 2 2018

• Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) has reported that Global solar investments topped US$160.8 billion in 2017, an 18% increase over the previous year and importantly, despite capital costs declining around 25%.

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Jan 16 2018

• The African Development Bank achieved a 100% investment in renewable energy in 2017, a milestone in its commitment to clean energy and efficiency. The Bank said in a statement that power generation projects with a cumulative 1,400MW exclusively from renewables were approved during the year, with plans to increase support for renewable energy projects in 2018 under the New Deal on Energy for Africa. Bank President, Akinwumi Adesina, commented: ‘’We are clearly leading on renewable energy. We will help Africa unlock its full energy potential, while developing a balanced energy mix to support industrialisation. “Our commitment is to ensure 100% climate screening for all Bank financed projects.’’

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Jan 8 2018

• Solar PV (photovoltaics) penetration in emerging markets is rapidly expanding as system costs continue to fall, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) annual Climatescope survey. BNEF claimed that in 2016, a total of 34GW of new solar installations came on line in 71 emerging market countries studied by BNEF, up from 22GW in 2015 and just 3GW said to have been installed in 2011.

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Nov 28 2017

• The rise of energy storage will enjoy a similarly meteoric trajectory to that enjoyed by solar PV deployment in the past and could reach 305GWh of installations by 2030, BNEF has predicted. The market is set to “double six times” between the years 2016 and 2030, reaching 125GW / 305GWh, Bloomberg New Energy Finance claims. The research group yesterday published a new report, “Energy storage forecast 2016 – 2030”. BNEF calls the expected rise of energy storage during this time as having a “similar trajectory” to that seen in the solar PV market globally between 2010 and 2015. In those five years solar PV capacity doubled seven times over. It is expected that around US$103 billion could be invested in the technology to facilitate this expansion into the mainstream.

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Nov 21 2017

• The German Development Bank (KfW) and the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) have set up a new credit facility instrument built to support renewable energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa that targets small and mid-scale renewable energy projects (up to 50MW). The German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), through the KfW, will provide funding up to US$38.8 million for the facility – which looks to allow small-and mid-scale renewable energy projects in Africa to reach financial close by meeting liquidity requirements that lenders frequently ask for in order to fund these projects.

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Nov 17 2017

• Solar trade association SolarPower Europe has updated its global solar demand forecast for 2017, expecting to reach the 100GW level for the first time. SolarPower Europe said that with global demand reaching 100GW, compared to 76.6GW installed in 2016, annual will be more than 30% in 2017. The trade group had expected only slight demand growth year-on-year, previously guiding installations could reach as much as 80GW in 2017. The real driver for strong demand in 2017 has come from China. The trade group said: “China alone has installed around 42GW in the first nine months of 2017 and is likely to add a total of over 50GW in 2017, which would account for more than half of the world's demand for new solar power capacities this year. This constitutes a 45% growth from the 34.5GW China installed last year.” However, SolarPower Europe noted that in its latest analysis estimates, Europe would also be a small contributor to the 2017 growth levels with installations expected to be around 10% higher than in 2016, with at least 7.5GW grid connected.

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Oct 26 2017

• Senegal’s Electricity Regulatory Commission (CRSE) has issued Request for Proposals (RFPs) for 100MW of solar projects to be built in three regions. The tender will be structured through the World Bank’s ‘Scaling Solar’ programme and projects are due to be located at Touba in the region of Diourbel, at Kahone in the Kaolack region, or at Niakhar in the Fatick region.

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Oct 18 2017

• Zimbabwe state-owned power company Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) has applied to develop three solar PV plants with the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA). A ZPC spokesperson told PV Tech that this is the firm’s first foray into solar energy, but did not comment on whether the company wished to build more solar in the future should these projects go ahead. The massive utility-scale projects would be far larger than the country’s current largest solar installation of 216kW from Switzerland’s meeco Group.

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Sep 6 2017

• Saudi Arabia has issued a regulatory framework for electricity consumers to operate their own, small-scale solar power generating systems and export unused power to the national grid, the government said on Monday. The rules will come into force next July 1 and cover small photovoltaic facilities with generating capacity of no more than 2 megawatts, the Electricity and Cogeneration Regulatory Authority said. Consumers will have their excess electricity offset against their future consumption and after a year they will receive cash payments at a tariff approved by the authority.

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Aug 21 2017

• Niger’s cabinet has ratified an agreement it closed in June with the International Development Association (IDA), which is part of the World Bank, for a €42.7 million ($50.3 million) financing that is planned to support the Niger Solar Electricity Access Project (NESPA), an initiative aimed at bringing solar power to rural communities.

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Aug 15 2017

• The World Bank this week approved $150m to fund off-grid solar systems in northeastern Kenya. The International Development Association credit is planned to provide power for an estimated 1.3 million people across 14 counties in Kenya’s northern and northeastern regions. According to the Bank, the project will aim to provide solar-based energy services to households, schools, hospitals, businesses and community centres through public-private partnerships that include “practical business models that attract private sector investment”. The project will include a technical assistance component that will facilitate a consumer education campaign as well as a capacity building programme.

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Aug 3 2017

• Mauritius’ Central Electricity Board (CEB) has launched the second phase of the Small Scale Distributed Generation Net-Metering Scheme. The new phase of the program is expected to enable the installation of up to 2 MW of PV systems not exceeding 5 kW. Under the scheme, customers generating electricity will export any excess energy in the grid, in the form of kWh credits. The credits will be used when the customer’s system is not producing enough power to meet demand.

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Jul 20 2017

• The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released its World Energy Investment report, showing that while there was a 12% fall in global energy investment last year, clean energy spending specifically claimed a record-high 43% share of all expenditure. $1.7 trillion USD is estimated to have been invested in global energy sectors last year, which accounts for 2.2% of global GDP.

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Jul 13 2017

• The Sudanese government is currently preparing to launch a Feed-In Tariff Scheme for solar energy and for renewables in general. Developed with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), it is expected to encourage grid-connected renewable energy projects as well as off-grid generation. They are now seeking consultants with experience in the development of national FIT programs to help the local government and the country’s Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) find the most suitable legal and regulatory framework for a future incentive scheme.

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Jun 21 2017

• The Algerian government has officially launched a new solar energy cluster (Cluster algérien des énergies solaires). So far, 16 small and medium-sized solar enterprises and research institutes have joined the project. The cluster is intended to help solar energy players in Algeria to share their expertise and to mutually support future projects. In October 2014, Sonelgaz and the Algerian government revealed plans to deploy 4 GW of solar power for the first time. So far, however, the government has not made any announcement.

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Jun 1 2017

• Energy consumption in Africa is the lowest in the world, and per capita consumption has remained almost constant since 2000 – according to the new Atlas released Thursday 4 May by UN Environment and the African Development Bank during the World Economic Forum. Current energy production in Africa is insufficient to meet demand, with about a third of the total population of Africa still lacking access to electricity. The Atlas – developed in collaboration with the Environment Pulse Institute, United States Geological Survey and George Mason University – consolidates information in the “form of detailed ‘before and after’ images, charts, maps and other satellite data from 54 countries through visuals detailing the challenges and opportunities in providing Africa’s population with access to reliable, affordable and modern energy services” – said UN Environment in a press release.

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May 11 2017

• Adding to the list of studies highlighting the immense growth of renewables last year, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has released a new report that finds global renewable energy generation capacity increased by 161 GW in 2016, making it the strongest year ever for new capacity additions. Perhaps most notably, though, the report also says solar growth outpaced wind energy for the first time since 2013. IRENA’s Renewable Energy Capacity Statistics 2017 report estimates that by the end of last year, the world’s renewable generation capacity reached 2,006 GW, with solar energy showing particularly strong growth.

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Apr 6 2017

• The route to decarbonisation in the energy sector will create benefits of US$10 trillion every year by 2050, while requiring only US$1.8 trillion to implement, according to a new joint report from the International Energy Agency (IAE) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In their first ever collaboration, IEA and IRENA found that a total of 6 million jobs would be created, even when accounting for jobs lost in other industries. Further jobs will also be created in the energy efficiency sector. However, the report also found that losses at oil and gas companies could reach more than US$1.3 trillion if the transition is not managed properly.

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Mar 20 2017

• The European Commission has announced its continued support to the African continent by promoting renewables through the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative. The Commission said this initiative is in line with its wider efforts in the implementation of the 2030 agenda on sustainable development and the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Launched in December 2015 at COP21, the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) is an Africa-owned initiative of the African Union.

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Mar 9 2017

• Renewable energy is a fundamental and growing part of the global energy transformation. Increasingly, renewables have become the first choice for expanding, upgrading and modernising power systems around the world. Click here to view IRENA's "REthinking Energy 2017" report, on accelerating the global energy transformation.

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Mar 5 2017

• Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday said that the Federal Government was making arrangements to inaugurate the first African Sovereign Green Bond to address climate change and environmental projects. Osinbajo said this at the Green Bonds Capital Market and Investors Conference organised by the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Debt Management Office (DMO) at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) office in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bonds are debt instruments issued by a government or a company which represent a fixed sum of money that was borrowed.

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Feb 23 2017

• Venture capital (VC) funds are increasingly turning to clean energy for safe investments, with 2016 seeing record levels of cash funneled into rooftop solar and other low-carbon technologies, finds Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Last year, a total of $834 million went via VC funds into the clean energy industry. This is the highest figure recorded by BNEF since the analysts first started collecting data in 2004, and marked the third consecutive year that the figure invested increased. This momentum suggests a returning confidence among VC and private equity (PE) investors in solar, wind and other green technologies, having been chased away from the sector by more mainstream investors over the past five years.

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Feb 13 2017

• On Sunday, the German Solar Association (BSW-Solar) announced the growth of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology has now reached a significant milestone with 300 GW of total installed solar power capacity around the world. The global solar PV market increased by nearly 70 GW in 2016, reaching 294.69 GW, led by China, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData – a jump of around 30 per cent in new deployment compared to the previous year 2015. The photovoltaic systems installed in 2016 alone generate around 90 terawatt hours of clean solar power.

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Feb 7 2017

• Former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and currently the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sustainable Energy for All, Dr Kandeh Yumkella has applauded the growth of alternative energy in recent years.Dr Yumkella was speaking in Lagos, Nigeria at the launch of N1billion ($3 million) Solar Energy Fund for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by the Bank of Industry (BoI), The Nation reported.

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Jan 29 2017

• Saudi Arabia plans to invest up to US$50 billion to help meet its target of producing enough electricity from renewables to power the equivalent of 3 million homes within six years, the country’s oil minister said yesterday. The government has set a target of generating 9.5 gigawatts of electricity from renewables by 2023 as it reduces its reliance on burning oil to produce power. Saudi Arabia will eventually generate 70 per cent of its electricity from gas – up from about 40 per cent in 2014 – and the remainder from renewables and other sources, Mr Falih said.

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Jan 16 2017

• Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced the UAE’s new energy strategy for the next 30 years. This new strategy aims to spur the integration of clean energy into the total energy mix to 50%, which will generate savings of AED700 billion (US$191 billion) by 2050.

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Jan 11 2017

• Nigeria plans to raise 20 billion naira ($63 million) by March to help fund renewable energy projects, the first issuance of so-called green bonds in West Africa’s biggest economy. “We are on track to sell the bond in the first quarter, a sovereign, and could have another by the end of the year,” Environment Minister Amina Mohammed said in an interview Friday in the capital, Abuja.

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Dec 9 2016

• Abu Dhabi is in the process of establishing net metering regulations for small-scale solar in the region. The Regulation & Supervision Bureau of Abu Dhabi is currently gathering public comment on the proposition which will allow for net metering of small solar sites of between 50kW and 5MW in capacity. In the process, the body hopes to set out any necessary requirements for implementation, establish a framework and ensure the safe construction, installation and O&M of small-scale PV systems.

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Nov 25 2016

• Last week, the multilateral financial institution stated that the funds will be spent over the next five years under the African Renewable Energy Initiative of the Africa Union (AU), the Standard Media reported. The initiative targets to deliver 10GW of electricity by 2020 and 300GW by 2030.

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Nov 21 2016

• Last year was a record year for global PV installations, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest Trends in Photovoltaic Applications report, released last week. Worldwide installed capacity amounted to 51 gigawatts in 2015, up from around 40 gigawatts in the two preceding years.

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Nov 11 2016

• The African Development Bank (AfDB) on Tuesday, announced that its annual climate financing will triple to $5-billion dollars a year by 2020, which will increase its total new investments to 40% by 2020. This was announced at the sixth Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-VI) which is held in United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa.

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Oct 20 2016

• Global clean energy communications and consulting firm Mercom Capital Group released its report on funding and merger and acquisition (M&A) moves for the PV market in the third quarter of 2016. Total corporate funding, including venture capital, public market and debt financing into the solar sector in Q3 2016 was up to about US$3 billion in 45 deals — compared to US$1.7 billion in 32 deals in Q2 2016.

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Oct 13 2016

• International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group has announced its partnership with the DFID, aimed at facilitating the deployment of off-grid and embedded solar systems in commercial and industrial sectors in the West African country. The IFC announced in a statement explained that the ultimate goal is to help corporates and SMEs to have better and more reliable access to electricity, utilising the country’s abundant solar resources. In addition, this will contribute to Nigeria’s sustainable economic growth and greenhouse gas emission reduction objectives.

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Sep 29 2016

• It has never been "more possible, and less expensive" for Africa to build solar power capacity, as the installed cost for utility-scale parks has fallen to as low as USD 1.30 (EUR 1.16) per watt, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) says in a new report. Since 2012, utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) costs on the continent have decreased by 61% and IRENA Director-General Adnan Z Amin says further declines of up to 59% are possible in the next 10 years.

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Sep 22 2016

• Solar power topped the ranking of most promising investment opportunities in Africa as the energy sector was considered to be the main driver of economic growth within the 2020 horizon, according to survey among top finance institution. The survey was carried out among 55 financial institutions and banks...

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Aug 15 2016

• Global solar installations are expected to grow 43% this year, to 73GW, according to GTM’s latest report, ‘Global Solar Demand Monitor, Q3 2016’. 2016 is set to be another record year for solar globally, after 2015 which had a total demand of 55GW, 10GW more than the previous year. The first half of 2016 saw a major uptick in demand driven by an unprecedented volume of installations in China and the UK, in advance of expiring capital incentives. Also in H1 2016, the US reached a record-breaking 1 million solar system installs, which further solidified the nation’s number 2 position in the global market, with 14.5GW, bolsted by the ITC extension. India completed 2GW of solar installs within the same time frame.

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Aug 4 2016

• The Dominican Republic could increase the share of modern renewable energy in its energy mix from 9 to 27 per cent by 2030, according to a new report launched by IRENA.

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Aug 2 2016

• On Wednesday, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) released a new report at the Intersolar Europe trade show which looks at multiple aspects of the dramatic growth of solar industry. Letting in the Light forecasts that global solar PV capacity could increase roughly 10-fold from 227 GW today to 1,760-2,500 GW.

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Jun 23 2016

• This year’s edition of BNEF’s long-term forecast sees $11.4 trillion investment in global power generation capacity over 25 years, with electric vehicles boosting electricity demand by 8% in 2040. Some $7.8 trillion will be invested in green power, with onshore and offshore wind attracting $3.1 trillion, utility-scale, rooftop and other small-scale solar $3.4 trillion, and hydro-electric $911 billion.

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Jun 12 2016

• Last year was a record 12 months for renewable energy investment and installations, with REN21 calculating in its latest global status report that the world boosted its clean power capacity by 147.2 GW in 2015. The Renewables 2016 Global Status Report, published today, found that new installations of renewable power generation capacity reached 1,848.5 GW cumulatively at the end of last year, fuelled by record levels of spending.

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Jun 1 2016

• Last week, 175 countries signed onto a global agreement to significantly reduce carbon emissions in the face of the threat of climate change. Many of those same countries—particularly India, China, and Nigeria—are simultaneously experiencing major urbanization trends that will move billions of people into cities over the next several decades. In fact, according to the United Nations, approximately 2.5 billion people will likely join the world’s urban population by 2050, almost entirely in Asia and Africa. By that time, two-thirds of the world’s population is projected to be living in urban areas, according to the United Nations.

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Apr 29 2016

• IRENA has released its latest 'Renewable Capacity Statistics' report, showing 2015 was a record year for renewable energy generation capacity – expanding 8.3% globally even within the context of depressed oil & gas prices. New solar installations were particularly strong, with 47 GW of capacity added during the year.

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Apr 14 2016

• In the lead-up to the coming Paris Agreement signing, the World Bank revealed on Thursday its new Climate Change Action Plan, detailing its plan to support the development of 30 GW of renewable energy in developing countries. In particular, it has designated distributed solar (and rooftop specifically) as high-opportunity sectors.

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Apr 13 2016

• Coal and gas-fired electricity generation last year drew less than half the record investment made in solar, wind and other renewables capacity - one of several important firsts for green energy recently announced in a United Nations-backed report. "Renewables are becoming ever more central to our low-carbon lifestyles, and the record-setting investments in 2015 are further proof of this trend,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner in a press release. “Importantly, for the first time in 2015, renewables in investments were higher in developing countries than developed."

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Mar 25 2016

• Chile's solar PV plants generated 170 gigawatt-hours in February and represented 2.8% of gross electricity production, according to the latest report from the Center for Renewable Energies (CIFES).

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Mar 16 2016

• Coinciding with the inauguration of Phase II of the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the Dubai government launched its “Clean Energy Strategy 2050” this Saturday – aiming to continue reducing the Emirate’s dependency on traditional fossil fuels, and targeting a 75% renewables mix by 2050. With the slogan “solar panels on every roof”, the government hopes to generate 25% of all energy through solar by then. Based on 5 key pillars (infrastructure, legislation, funding, capacity building, sustainable energy mix), the plan will be backed by significant initiatives including an AED 100 billion (27bUSD) ‘Green Fund’ to provide loans to clean energy investors at reduced rates, the establishment of a new clean energy free zone (‘Dubai Green Zone’), and infrastructure projects to come.

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Nov 30 2015

• The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) and IRENA have opened a new round of funding to support renewable energy projects in developing markets, with total volume at around $50 million USD. Funding will take the form of concessional loans between $5 million USD and $15 million USD offering lower interest rates than traditional loans. Almost 30% of past funding has been channelled to Africa, opening the door for UAE companies to participate in the renewables development in these markets.

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Nov 16 2015

• A survey by DNV GL of a range of participants in the MENA region's solar markets has confirmed that Dubai and Jordan are considered the markets with the greatest short term potential. Looking beyond two years, Saudi Arabia is seen as having the highest potential, despite the slow movement in the market today. Jordan offers a FIT for projects under 5 MW in size, and has launched its second utility scale tender. Dubai trails Jordan only slightly, in survey respondents’ expectations, with the 200 MW Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid (MBR) Al-Maktoum Solar Park.

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Jun 4 2015

• Abu Dhabi: Dubai is targeting 3,000 mega watts (MW) of solar power by 2030, which is 15 per cent of the overall energy mix, a senior official of Dubai Supreme Council of Energy said on Wednesday. He said a 13MW solar plant has already been commissioned and another plant of 200MW capacity is under construction in Seih Al Dahal between Hatta and Dubai. “It will be commissioned in two years. We have a target to achieve 3000MW by 2030. We are clear in our objectives. There are also other sources of power adopted by private and government entities.”

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Jun 3 2015

• Although still heavily dependent on fossil fuels, South Africa has been quietly creating one of the world’s most progressive alternative energy plans. Solar, biomass and wind energy systems are popping up all over the country and feeding clean energy into the strained electrical grid. “It is set to completely transform these deep rural communities in terms of healthcare, education, job creation and a raft of other interventions. All this while putting green electricity on the grid at affordable prices,” said Johan van den Berg, director of the South African Wind Energy Association.

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Jun 1 2015

• Report by Renewable Energy Association and PwC finds installed clean energy capacity increased by nearly a quarter in past year, with jobs in sector up 9%. Electricity generated by the U.K.’s renewable energy sector has risen by 20% in the space of a year, according to a recent report conducted by the Renewable Energy Association (REA). The REA’s review has shown that total electricity generation reached 64,404 GWh in 2014, up 20% on 2013’s 53,667 GWh, with the U.K.’s solar and wind industries playing a significant part in that overall increase.

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May 14 2015

• The U.K.’s transmission system operator has revealed that it estimates peak demand will hit just 37.5 GW this summer, remarking that the growth of distributed solar PV has helped ease the burden on the national grid by around 900 MW since 2014. According to the National Grid, embedded U.K. solar power capacity almost doubled over the past 12 months, rising from 2.4 GW in February 2014 to 4.4 GW this year – this is solar PV capacity that is not connected to the national electricity transmission grid, but does show up on the grid indirectly as reduced demand.

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Apr 10 2015

• There is no doubt that investing in solar electricity generates important environmental, economic and social benefits. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Egypt has committed to generating as much as 20% of its energy from renewable sources, including solar by 2020. Governments, utility companies and private enterprises around the world have rapidly been embracing the potential to tap into our most abundant energy resource – the sun – and for good reason: the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth’s surface every six minutes is sufficient to produce more electricity than the world’s population consumes over an entire year. Solar energy is not only clean and renewable, but is also cost competitive with fossil fuels.

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Mar 22 2015

• Subsidy-free solar in the UK could thrive by the end of the decade, according to a report published by Berlin-based think tank Thema1 and supported by a coalition of European companies. The report, 'In Sight: Unsubsidised UK Solar,' predicts that all three sectors of the UK solar market (ground-mount, commercial and domestic) will be able to compete without subsidy with traditional forms of energy within the next 10 years.

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Dec 4 2014

• The Department for Energy and Climate Change’s Fuel Poverty Strategy calls for further renewable energy measures. Broadly speaking, the new fuel poverty strategy highlights the need for further energy efficiency and renewable measures and is working on a new fuel poverty definition. The strategy is wide-ranging, but there are some specific areas linking to Regen SW’s work. Regen SW believes DECC will offer minimal funding to deal with fuel poverty; it will therefore be necessary to find as many alternative sources of funding as possible. On a government level, this means engaging different departments in fuel poverty for different reasons but it is equally relevant on the regional and local scale.

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Oct 1 2014

• Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has said the country needs to invest at least $12 billion over the next five years in order to meet the electricity demands of the population. The Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Energy has announced feed-in tariffs for electricity generated by solar and wind sources as part of the government’s efforts to increase the country’s energy capacity in the face of serious power shortages and recent power outages.

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Sep 23 2014

• Egypt is suffering a power crisis, and not just a political one. Over the weekend the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, made an appeal to the Arab world's most populous nation for patience after a series of serious blackouts. The daily blackouts have caused the metro in Cairo to grind to a halt during rush hour, business to be disrupted, and the city's already terrible traffic problem to get even worse. The power cuts left parts of the capital without running water, and caused 2,000 mobile phone signal boosters to fail. Mass protests have been held calling for the resignation of the Electricity Minister.

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Sep 8 2014

• UK to become number one European PV market in 2014 - The UK is set to become the largest market for solar PV in Europe during 2014, confirming its status as the hottest market across the region. This is the first time that the UK will have taken podium position for installed PV in Europe, and effectively ends the historic dominance of mainland Europe, in particular Germany.

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Apr 22 2014

• The Dutch solar market saw good growth in 2013, approximately doubling from about 100,000 solar roofs to about 200,000 solar roofs. In 2014, the aim is to reach about 300,000.

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Apr 9 2014

• Financial services group Old Mutual is understood to be by far South Africa’s major investor in solar photovoltaic projects. It is investing in at least nine projects established under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) programme initiated by the government.

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Jan 30 2014

• The region is poised to become a hub for solar energy, with $155 billion worth of projects set to be complete by 2017. The six GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries have sanctioned $155 billion (Dh596 billion) worth of solar power projects that will generate 84 gigawatts when completed in 2017, according to the region’s first dedicated solar technology exhibition, Gulf Sol 2013. Derek Burston, Director of UK-based Bowmedia, organisers of Gulf Sol 2013, said in a statement the GCC countries had demonstrated their keenness to shift towards low-cost solar energy.

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Sep 2 2013

• The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), REN21 and the United Arab Emirates have released a new report which finds that renewable energy investment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region increased 40% over 2011 to $2.9 billion in 2012. MENA Renewables Status Report identifies over 100 projects in development, and estimates that non-hydro renewable energy generating capacity could increase 450% over the next few years. MENA governments have announced plans to expand non-hydro renewable energy capacity to 50 GW by 2020 and 107 GW by 2030, compared to the current 1.7 GW.

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Jul 29 2013