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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Firewall: [QB] Solar energy in africa Sudan signs euro solar energy deal Sudan signed a 1.25 billion euro deal with a private French company on Wednesday to build three solar power plants in the war-torn Darfur region, a step forward in sustainable clean energy. The project will target producing 2000 megawatts of electricity over the next 10 years using concentrated solar power to generate electricity across the country, a statement from the French Solar Euromed company said. http://www.goodnewsaboutafrica.com/g...r-energy-deal/ ____________ Tuesday December 4, 2012, 3:56 pm BBC News Science & Environment 4 December 2012 Last updated at 02:52 ET Ghana solar energy plant set to be Africa's largest Matt McGrath By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News A UK firm has announced plans to build what it claims is the biggest photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant in Africa. The Nzema project, based in Ghana, will be able to provide electricity to more than 100,000 homes. Construction work on the $400m (£248m) plant is due to start within 12 months. The developers say that they are optimistic that finance for the project will be confirmed within six months. Fully cooked The initiative is being developed by Blue Energy, a UK-based renewable energy investment company. Dozens of solar projects have been announced across Africa in recent years but few have been on this ambitious scale says industry analyst Ash Sharma at IMS Research. He says the 155 megawatt plant will increase Ghana's generating capacity by 6%. "It is the biggest single project that's going ahead at the moment," he told BBC News. "It is not the biggest in the world, but if it goes ahead it will be the biggest in Africa." He says that a key element in helping the project go ahead has been Ghana's renewable energy law under which the plant has been awarded a feed-in tariff for 20 years. These are premium prices, guaranteed for the working life of the site. Project director Douglas Coleman, from Mere Power Nzema Ltd. who will build the plant, told BBC News that it was "fully cooked" in planning terms. "The project has land, it has planning consent, it has a generating licence, and it has received a feed-in tariff," he said, "it is the right plant in the right place at the right time." He was confident that the finance needed to build the plant could be raised in the next six months. The company behind the scheme is majority owned and funded by members of the Stadium Group, a large European private asset and development company with £2.5bn under management. Ash Sharma believes that the backing of this firm plus the feed-in tariff makes the idea viable. "One of the biggest stumbling blocks has been overcome and the financing looks like it could be in a good position to succeed I would say." Not concentrating Unlike many other solar projects in Africa that use concentrated solar power, the Nzema plant will use photovoltaic (PV) technology to convert sunlight directly into electricity. Douglas Coleman says the characteristics of the Sun in Ghana favour PV. "We can predict with great certainty on an annual basis, the output from the plant. That predictability means we can harmonise with the needs of the transmission network, to balance load with generation." While concerns have been raised in recent weeks about the future of North Africa's Desertec project that aims to export solar power to Europe, researchers are far more hopeful about the prospects for local African markets. Demand for renewable energy has been held back in emerging economies like Ghana by high costs, but a recent glut of solar panels on world markets has seen prices tumble - much to the advantage of African countries. "The reason the technology hasn't taken off so far is that it has been too expensive," says Ash Sharma, "but the costs of solar have decreased dramatically in the last two years, they've fallen by 40% plus, and this has really enabled it to be used in emerging regions in Africa and Asia." Installation of more than 630,000 solar PV modules will begin by the end of next year with electricity being generated early in 2014. It is due to reach full capacity at the end of 2015. http://www.care2.com/news/member/663679641/3495604 __________________________ Solar Lights Up Villages in Senegal Frequent power cuts have led people in rural areas of Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal to turn to solar energy for electricity. Promoters of solar panels say more than 80 villages in Senegal are already benefiting from this renewable energy source; in neighbouring Mali, more than 150 communities are enjoying solar power. According to solar manufacturer Sustainable Power Electric Company (SPEC), based in Senegal, photovoltaic cells, or solar panels, have been a potential solution for electrification in rural areas for years, with only the relatively high cost of installation preventing widespread adoption in West Africa. But Mamadou Saliou Sow, director of SPEC, explains that a generous subsidy is now bringing the panels within reach of many more in Senegal. "A square metre of photovoltaic cells previously cost 650,000 CFA francs (around 1,350 dollars), but with a subsidy from the government of more than four billion CFA (around 8.3 million dollars), we have reduced this. Now one can get panels and the hardware needed to install them for 300,000, even 250,000 CFA (520 dollars)," Sow told IPS. "And solar panels also have a long life span after installation; they can last eight or ten years or more." SPEC manufactures panels with outputs ranging from 50 watts to more than 300W, meaning they can meet nearly all needs. As well as providing lighting in homes and schools, solar panels are powering fridges, improving security, and supporting small collective enterprises and mini-power plants. In the village of Kidira, in eastern Senegal, not far from the border with Mali, livestock owners were experiencing worrying levels of theft. Amadou Dia, a teacher at the local secondary school, says the villagers turned to solar power to light up their stock enclosures at night. "People here are mostly livestock herders, but there was a series of stock thefts. They dipped into their own pockets, contributing 50,000 CFA per household (a little more than 100 dollars), to get solar lighting," he told IPS. Shakir Sow lives in the area, but he opted to go it alone. He spent more than a million CFA (2000 dollars) to install solar panels at his house, but he is not complaining at the cost. "With the installation of a photovoltaic kit, my animals are protected; and my children who are in school can also study thanks to the light. And now we have a television to follow the news. I'm a modern herdsman," he said. SPEC also operates in neighbouring Mali, alongside another provider, Sahel Energie. In Dindiéri, in the east of the country, nearly all the houses enjoy solar energy. "I spent 680,000 CFA (1,417 dollars) to get my solar panels. This provides power for the whole house and a bar, as well as two televisions, lamps and two fridges," said Moutakilou Bangoura, a young trader from Dindiéri. In Kayes, a city in the west of Mali, some families have opted for solar power even though the city is connected to the national electricity grid. They say solar energy is cheaper – and it extends the life of their electrical appliances. Khalidou Soumaré, an official with the Kayes municipalitiy, told IPS that he has used solar panels in his house for 10 years. "Back then, people thought that it was a luxury; I was simply fed up with the power cuts, which were also damaging my appliances. I chose solar and I don't regret it. I no longer have a monthly bill to pay," said Soumaré. "What's still a problem is getting spare parts for the device which stores solar power (in a battery). We used to buy them in Bamako (the Malian capital); now you can get them here, although sometimes the traders try to outdo each other." According to Soumaré, there are also non-governmental organisations working to improve access to electricity in rural areas. For example, in 2009 the Monaco Red Cross installed a mini-solar power plant consisting of twelve 50-watt panels in Kayes, to support the recharging of 400 individual lamps owned by families. "Each user receives a lamp, and can recharge it at the central point whenever they want for a monthly subscription fee of 700 CFA (1.45 dollars). The revenue from this pays for a technician and for any maintenance," Soumaré said. "This approach has the advantage of making solar electricity immediately available to families who don't have the resources to buy a photovoltaic kit." In Boulsa, a village in the Koupèla commune in southern Burkina Faso, a French NGO called Soleil et Développement (Sun and Development) helped 102 women install solar panels in their houses in 2009. The women have put the electricity to good use, forming a collecting which processes grain for sale. "Solar energy can contribute effectively to the reduction of household energy bills," says SPEC director Sow. He believes the world's energy future is inconceivable without renewable energy, and solar power in particular. By Koffigan E. Adigbli Source: IPS News http://www.africagoodnews.com/infras...n-senegal.html [/QB][/QUOTE]
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