Africa Microgrid News
Spain’s TTA Builds Five 24/7 Solar-Wind Minigrids on Ghana’s Lake Volta Islands
The initial five remote island renewable minigrids are enhancing lives and livelihoods as Ghana continues its drive to achieve universal electricity access by 2020.
Read more →Competition Heats Up in Kenya’s Off-Grid, Mobile Pay-Go Solar Market
An average 800 Kenyan households per day are signing up for d.light's new D30 off-grid solar home system.
Read more →MTN, Lumos Global Expect to Empower 1 Million Nigerians with Launch of Mobile Electricity Service
The advent of off-grid, mobile pay-go household solar energy systems is producing amazing results in a growing range of Sub-Saharan nations. The MTN-Lumos partnership serves as a prime example.
Read more →USAID Adds Momentum to Sub-Saharan Off-Grid Solar with $4 Million of New SOGE Grant Awards
USAID will award Scaling Off-Grid Energy Development Grand Challenge grants of up to $500,000 each to Sub-Saharan start-ups that demonstrate commercially promising innovations and show they've raised sufficient capital from private sector investors.
Read more →Ugandan Off-Grid Solar, Low-Cost Internet Access Poised for a Growth Spurt
Uganda's national off-grid solar and renewable power iniative brightens prospects for the economy, society and the environment. Entrepreneurial African solar start-ups are keen to contribute.
Read more →Nigeria Launches National Off-Grid Pay-Go Solar Homes Initiative
20,000 households are expected to benefit by having off-grid, mobile pay-go solar energy systems installed over the next 12 months in the initial phase of Nigeria's Solar Home Systems initiative.
Read more →Uganda Mobile Pay-Go Solar Provider Doubles Customer Base to 100,000 in 12 Months
Fenix International's ReadyPay line of high-efficiency, off-grid mobile pay-go solar products are proving very popular with Ugandans. The socioeconomic and environmental advantages and benefits should serve them in good stead for many years to come.
Read more →Nigeria Bank of Industry Pumps Up Mobile Pay-Go, Solar Microgrid Financing
A solar energy revolution is building momentum in Nigeria as BoI joins with multilateral development agencies, wirless network operators, local entrepreneurs and rural residents to roll out solar home energy services.
Read more →Solar PV, Renewable Microgrids Stand Out in 2017 IRENA/ADFD Joint Facility Awards
Four renewable energy projects in Africa and the Pacific region will receive $44.5 million in IRENA-ADFD Joint Facility loans that come with low interest rates and other favorable terms developers would not be able to qualify for otherwise.
Read more →D.light Raises Another $10.5MM as Kenya Launches $150MM Mobile Pay-Go Solar Plan
A mix of equity and grant funding, the capital infusion brings the total amount d.light has raised over the past four months to more than $40 million, highlighting growing investor confidence in mobile pay-go solar as an effective means of sustainable socioeconomic development..
Read more →Zimbabwe Off-Grid Solar Start-up Lands Kiva Direct to Social Enterprise Loan
Providing mobile "pay as you go" home solar loans, Zonful Energy tapped into Kiva's new Direct to Social Enterprise Fund to secure a $50,000 loan that will enable it to deploy the PAYG mobile payments soloution to remote and rural areas.
Read more →Solar Startup Harnesses the Power of the Sun and the Mighty Zambesi
Construction of the first three of a planned 12 hybrid solar-hydroelectric microgrids highlights the creative, effective ways multilateral Power Africa off-grid energy program partners are teaming up with African entrepreneurs to bring affordable, reliable, emissions-free electricity access to rural communities for the first time.
Read more →U.S. Solar Developer Renewvia Brings Electricity to Rural Areas in Kenya and Developing Countries With Pay-As-You-Go Microgrids
U.S.-based solar developer, Renewvia Energy , is bringing electricity to rural communities in Kenya and other developing countries through pay-as-go solar micro-grids. Most of these communities will be experiencing use of electricity for the first-time. The microgrids are servicing people…
Read more →Vulcan Impact Investing Makes its Mark with Rural Kenya Solar Mini-grids
Vulcan's impact investing team lay out the challenges they have faced, and the solutions they've come up with, in the two years it has owned and operated 10 off-grid, solar-powered mini-grids serving communities in rural Kenya.
Read more →Off-Grid Renewable Energy Bringing Universal Electricity Access to Africa
Widely available and cheaper than ever, PV solar is spreading rapidly across sub-Saharan Africa as a first generation of local clean energy entrepreneurs taps into support from U.S. and multilateral public-private partnerships,
Read more →How Multilateral Development Banks Can Embrace Decentralized Renewables
The Executive Summary from 'Decentralized Renewables: The Fast Track Track To Universal Energy Access,' is republished with permission from PowerForAll. Please visit their resource page for more resources and to download the full paper. The international community is united by…
Read more →Mobile Phone Adoption In Africa Can Provide Tools, Demand, and Lessons for Off-Grid Electrification
Hundreds of millions of phones ( a nd smartphones ) have been activated in Africa . But the aspiration of portable and renewable off-Grid solutions for all households still appears far-fetched . In countries like Nigeria, many urban household s…
Read more →Solar Kiosk Turns a Sleepy Kenyan Village Into An Urban Center
After decades of failed initiatives to extend electricity access, over 600 million people in Africa still do not have access to electricity . With current trends, it will take until 2080 for everyone in Africa to have access to electricity.…
Read more →Africa And The Policy Push For Mini-Grid Growth
In Africa’s quest for power sufficiency, there is a vehicle, a driver and the passengers. With the private sector/investor’s interest being the driver, governments & policies, the “vehicle” must be optimized. African governments (through policies) are the most potent vehicle…
Read more →
Your Guide To Microgrid Month - Events in London, Washington DC, Kansas City, Arlington, and Lausanne
A growing interest in Microgrids, Distributed Energy, and Rural Electrification can be identified by a growing list of high-caliber events . [wpsm_titlebox title="March 13-16, London UK" style="3"] CommonWealth Africa Summit The CommonWealth Africa Summit will feature two high-level, interactive panels…
Read more →