TechPression

Tag: Renewable Energy

  • USAID Will Electrify 10,000 African Health Facilities With Renewable Energy

    USAID Will Electrify 10,000 African Health Facilities With Renewable Energy

    The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has unveiled the Health Electrification and Telecommunications Alliance (HETA), which is aimed at electrifying 10,000 healthcare facilities across Africa.

    The Health Electrification and Telecommunications Alliance (HETA) was inaugurated at the recently concluded U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, held in Washington.

    The United States Agency for International Development’s project was established to ensure no fewer than 10,000 medical centres have access to electricity in the African continent, which will significantly contribute to improving service delivery in the centres.

    Recall that the agency had announced in April 2022 plans for the new public and private sector alliance for the electrification project, which will take place over the next eight to ten years in the continent.

    HETA will be fully operational under the Power Africa program, which was instituted during former US President Barack Obama’s administration to facilitate the electrification of the African continent.

    According to USAID, the HETA alliance is a five-year cooperative agreement that will employ USAID resources to raise $150 million from the private sector “to provide reliable, renewable power and provide mobile network and Internet access to at least 10,000 health institutions in sub-Saharan Africa.”

    According to the US agency, “millions of people seeking care and treatment are at risk because they cannot rely on refrigeration for medical products like vaccines, lights for childbirth or emergency surgery at night, or digital connectivity for the communications and records management that modern medicine depends on.”

    Read also: AfDB Invests $21 Million In Chad’s Clean Electricity Project

    Solar photovoltaic systems with battery storage and other electricity access strategies will be used to electrify these clinics and grid sites. In order to maintain the systems and provide “financial sustainability to establish the effort as a formal program outside of USAID,” excess electricity produced by these installations will be sold to the local populations.

    Along with the founding members of the private sector alliance, Bechtel, Orange, and 25 other businesses, organisations, and foundations in the health, energy, and telecommunications sectors, the US firm Abt is serving as the primary integrator for HETA with Resolve. This is to make sure the plan runs seamlessly.

    About United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

    The top international development organisation in the world, USAID is a catalyst for progress in development. The work of USAID fosters recipient resilience and self-reliance while also advancing American generosity, national security, and economic development. 

    The goal of foreign aid should be to eliminate the need for it. We give development aid to help our partner countries become self-sufficient. These countries are looking for ways to improve lives, strengthen communities, and become self-sufficient.

    USAID operations are not only carried out by the American people but are also for their good.

    They also open up more trade opportunities, find creative answers to problems that used to be impossible to solve, save lives, and move democracy, governance, and peace forward. By addressing the causes of violence, USAID promotes global stability, opens up new markets and trade opportunities, finds creative solutions to development problems that were once unsolvable, saves lives, and moves democracy, governance, and peace forward.

     About USAID’s Power Africa

    The U.S. government-led partnership Power Africa brings together the combined resources of the private sector, international development agencies, and governments from across the world. This is done to make sure that everyone in sub-Saharan Africa has access to energy and to end energy poverty.

    Power Africa’s goal is to advance inclusive, low-carbon economic growth that improves lives and powers health, education, and prosperity by adding 60 million new electricity connections as well as 30,000 MW of new and cleaner generation capacity.

    So far, Power Africa has successfully provided 34.6 million new electricity connections and 6,500 megawatts of new electricity, turning lights on across the continent. Now, about 80 percent of online power projects use renewable energy due to the initiative. 

  • Germany Looks To Africa For Alternative Energy Sources

    Germany Looks To Africa For Alternative Energy Sources

    Germany has begun looking for alternative energy sources in Africa to compensate for the country’s loss of Russian gas supplies. 

    Economy Minister Robert Habeck began a five-day trip to Namibia and South Africa on Sunday, which is a drive of the new energy search.

    As part of the plans for his visit, Habeck’s first stopover will be in Windhoek, Namibia’s capital. The Economy Minister will be accompanied by a delegation of 24 German business leaders, where he is scheduled to sign an agreement on the production of green hydrogen.

    Before leaving for Berlin, Habeck told journalists that “Namibia has very great advantages in terms of location compared to Europe.” He added that Namibia’s Skeleton Coast on the Atlantic Ocean is excellent for green-hydrogen production because of the constant availability of sun and wind.

    Germany’s RWE and consortium Hyphen Hydrogen Energy recently signed a deal that had the potential of enabling RWE to offtake up to 300,000 tons yearly of green ammonia, a hydrogen derivative that is essentially suitable for ship transportation.

    Later in the week, Habeck will also be present at the German-African Business Summit in Johannesburg along with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

    Habeck’s Africa visit is part of a wider German government mission to establish new energy alliances abroad after Russia cut off its gas supplies in September. Habeck has also recently travelled to Canada, Qatar and Norway in an attempt to secure LNG resources.

    Speaking on the benefits for Africa if it goes green, Economy Correspondent at Germany Trade & Invest, Fausi Najjar said, “a green energy transition, security of supply and reliable value chains are also key issues in Africa.”

    He added that “In particular, the desire for more diversified supply chains is leading to greater interest on the part of German companies in African markets.”

    More than 400 German businesses, including in the auto, medical technology and energy sectors, operate in South Africa and employ more than 65,000 people, GTAI figures show. South Africa’s share of total German foreign trade with Africa is more than 40%.

    Read also: US, Nigeria agree to deploy gas in push for renewable energy

    Gas exports to Europe

    According to Ndiarka Mbodji, CEO of a company based in Berlin that offers energy solutions to Africa, the gas shouldn’t be disregarded.

    With the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Mbodji told DW, “you can see right now the need to diversify the source of energy.” And we can grasp the significance of this resource in Africa if we consider it in terms of, say, gas, a source of transformation.
    Following German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s trip to Africa last month, when he signed agreements to assist the infrastructure needed to produce and export oil and gas to Europe, the event was held soon after.

    According to Ethiopia’s energy minister, Sultan Wali, energy development initiatives require private-public collaborations and are capital-intensive.
    Wali stated that “African countries cannot complete these projects on their own.”
    “They require financial aid from Germany and other wealthy western nations. Everyone will have a solid foundation thanks to this forum.”

    Renewable energy crucial for data center growth

    Why Germany Might Be Interested In Africa

    While Africa has vast natural gas reserves and North African countries like Algeria have pipelines already linked to Europe, an Aljazeera report indicates that a lack of infrastructure and security issues have long prevented producers in other regions of the continent from increasing exports.

    Aljazeera also reported that renowned African producers are signing deals or reducing energy utilisation so they have more to sell to boost their finances, but some leaders warn that hundreds of millions of Africans lack electricity and supplies are needed at home.

    In 2017, the African continent reportedly had 148.6 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves — more than 7% of the global reserves.

    Nigeria exported more crude oil than any other country in Africa in 2019, selling more than 2 million barrels of oil each day on the global market.

    Africa’s overall oil and gas production totalled 327.3 million metric tons in the same year.

    By 2020, Africa would have contributed over 9% of the world’s oil exports.

  • World Bank Approves South Africa’s $497m Komati Repowering Loan

    World Bank Approves South Africa’s $497m Komati Repowering Loan

    The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors have approved South Africa’s request for $497 million (about R9 billion) to decommission and repower the Komati coal-fired power plant using renewables and batteries.

    On October 31, the last Komati unit was shut down at midday, heralding the beginning of what Eskom described as a repowering and repurposing of the site into a renewables, storage, manufacturing and training hub.

    The company in charge of the power station, Eskom, said the concessional loan facility was approved after successful meetings over the past two months in Washington DC, USA, between the firm and World Bank executives.

    According to Eskom, “The loan facility will cover three main components: decommissioning of the Komati power station, repurposing and repowering of the station and other elements of the just energy transition, including provision for the training of Eskom employees, community development and stakeholder initiatives.”

    Read also: USA, Japan Partner With Ghana On Nuclear Energy

    In a statement by the World Bank, the financing of the ‘Komati Just Energy Transition Project’ would be collaboratively achieved through a $439.5-million World Bank loan, a $47.5-million concessional loan from the Canadian Clean Energy and Forest Climate Facility, as well as a $10-million grant provided by the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program.

    Repowering the plant would involve the installation of 220 MW of clean energy solutions, including 150 MW of solar photovoltaic and 70 MW of wind, supported by 150 MW of batteries.

    The global body notated that this initiative also creates opportunities for affected workers and communities. This it said, would be made possible through Eskom’s establishment of a containerised micro-grid assembly factory at Komati, alongside the recent signing of a partnership agreement with the South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet to develop a Komati Training Facility.

    SA clean energy startup wins at the GEA Summit

    World Bank’s Report on South Africa

    The financing announcement follows closely on the World Bank’s ‘South Africa Country Climate and Development Report’.

    The report projects that South Africa’s transition to net zero will require total incremental financing of R8.5-trillion by 2050 and that the funding gap could be closed only with the support of external resources.

    The report also reiterated that renewable energy represented the quickest and cheapest pathway out of South Africa’s long-running electricity crisis and that two to three more jobs would be created by pursuing such a pathway when compared with the 300 000 jobs that are likely to be shed in high-emitting sectors. 

    However, the World Bank did alert of a timing and spatial mismatch in the labour market and indicated that government interventions would be required to assist vulnerable workers.

  • Envusa Energy to build an ecosystem for renewable energy in South Africa

    Envusa Energy to build an ecosystem for renewable energy in South Africa

    Anglo-American and EDF Renewables have agreed to build a regional renewable energy ecosystem (RREE) in South Africa. They have done this by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to create a company called Envusa Energy that they will both own.

    Anglo-American’s operational power requirements in South Africa were met in March 2022 when the two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the development of the ecosystem. This was done to support the resilience of the local electricity supply systems and the wider decarbonization of energy in the country.

    The RREE is also expected to increase economic activity in South Africa’s renewable energy sector, which will help with the country’s larger energy transition.

    Read also: Renewable energy crucial for data center growth

    Envusa Energy is taking a critical first step toward establishing an ecosystem that is anticipated to generate between 3 and 5 GW of renewable energy by the year 2030. The company is unveiling a mature pipeline of wind and solar projects in South Africa with a combined capacity of more than 600MW. It is anticipated that this first phase of Envusa Energy’s renewable energy projects will be fully funded – including by attracting debt financing, which is typical for high-quality energy infrastructure projects – and ready for construction to begin in the year 2023. This goal will be reached by getting debt financing, which is common for projects that improve energy infrastructure.

    Energy systems will operate mines

    It is anticipated that the new company, which will be jointly owned, will supply Anglo American with a combination of renewable energy that will be generated on sites controlled by Anglo American as well as renewable energy that will be transferred via the national grid.

    This energy portfolio solution will collect energy from renewable generating assets that are in different parts of the world. This energy will then be redistributed in the most efficient way possible to meet the load demand at all Anglo-American locations.

    “This is a significant milestone in Anglo American’s global decarbonization journey and another step forward for South Africa’s clean energy future,” stated Nolitha Fakude, Chair of Anglo American’s Management Board in South Africa. We are making a lot of progress toward our goal of carbon-neutral operations by the year 2040. At the same time, our responsible approach is helping South Africa make a just energy transition.

    “We think that the switch to a cleaner energy system gives South Africa and the rest of the region a new chance to build a clean, inclusive energy ecosystem that can create a lot of new economic opportunities.”

    Tristan de Drouas, the CEO of EDF Renewables in South Africa, said, “This 600MW first tranche of projects will be added to the almost 1GW that EDF Renewables will be building or operating in the country by 2023. This includes 420MW of wind projects in REIPPP Bid Window 5, whose PPAs were signed with Eskom and the DMRE on September 22, 2022. “

    Kowry Energy Announces Solar Power Projects in Nigeria, Senegal, and Mali

    Envusa Energy will promote environmentally friendly hydrogen.

    In addition, the rollout of the RREE will serve as a clean energy source for the production of green hydrogen for Anglo American’s nuGen Zero Emission Haulage Solution (ZEHS), which is a planned fleet of hydrogen-powered ultra-class mine haul trucks. This will lead to a big drop in diesel emissions on-site, which is a step toward a future with no carbon emissions, and it will also help South Africa’s Hydrogen Valley grow.

    Anglo-American and EDF Renewables have joined forces to develop Envusa Energy to contribute to South Africa’s efforts toward achieving its economic transformation and empowerment goals. It is expected that Envusa Energy will start looking for a good Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) partner in the fourth quarter of 2022.

    Envusa Energy is also looking into different community partnerships to ensure that host communities get the most out of RREE development across its entire value chain. This is in line with both companies commitment to a fair energy transition.

  • Renewable energy crucial for data center growth

    Renewable energy crucial for data center growth

    African and worldwide data center operators are relying more on renewable energy sources due to electricity shortages. Rob Saunders, CTO of Raxio Group, affirmed that the footprint of the African data center industry will go from 127MW to 267MW by 2027.

    He said that in order to meet the rising demand for electricity, there are a great number of facilities that are either in the process of being developed or will soon be designed. 

    These facilities will provide more ecologically friendly solutions and sustainable technology.

    The total installed power capacity across the continent is 232 gigatonnes, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), with renewable energy such as hydro, wind, and solar accounting for 22% of total installed capacity.

    According to Saunders’ explanation, “this growing trend of using sustainable energy can clearly be seen in the case of Ethiopia, which already receives 98% of its total power from renewables.” This is a clear example of the “clearly visible” case of “this growing trend of using sustainable energy.”

    Read also: Africa Data Centre Joins Force With IXPN Nigeria

    Data Center technology demands

    Over the last few years, the pan-African company that builds and runs data centers has made a lot of progress toward expanding its presence all over Africa.

    Raxio wants to keep building digital infrastructure in more African countries. In the next 12 to 18 months, it will have data centers up and running in Uganda, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Côte d’Ivoire, and Mozambique.

    Saunders noted that it is essential that we achieve this growth as sustainably as possible, and that investing in environmentally friendly initiatives plays a big part in achieving the sustainability objectives established for Raxio and our customers.

    Raxio has seen a rising demand for more environmentally friendly data centers all around the world. These data centers are becoming more and more prevalent in business, particularly in Africa.

    He went on to say that “environmentally friendly data centers support the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations by being more energy efficient and releasing a lot less CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the air.”

    African ambitions

    Saunders says that putting sustainability and, more specifically, renewable energy into projects for data centers is even more important for those who run data centers in Africa, where temperatures are higher and more cooling power is needed.

    We seek to achieve the maximum degree of uptime of this main source by picking sites that have redundant grid supply; preferably, two feeds from adjacent substations, he said. “The major source of power to all Raxio plants is renewable grid electricity.”

    It was explained that “we have an initiative through which we are introducing different renewable energy sources, like solar, to our projects, initially in Côte d’Ivoire and in other markets in due course.” Additionally, “we enter into long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with renewable energy providers to guarantee the supply of renewable energy to our data centers as much as possible,” he added.

    Saunders said that for Raxio to choose a location for a data center, the power source for the local substation must come from a renewable source.

    “Once we have secured renewable energy, then the next step in the process is optimizing the design, selecting the latest technology and most energy efficient equipment to reduce the losses and overall facility power demand,” he explained.

    He said energy-efficient equipment allows Raxio to operate its facilities at lower power usage effectiveness (PUE) and that in turn reduces total power consumption, which allows it to pass savings on to its customers.

    Saunders said there are three current trends in technologies that reduce power consumption for the data center market.

    “Energy-efficient equipment that can run well at part load; the use of AI to improve process efficiency and system optimization; and DCIM [data center infrastructure management] tools that can analyze power, cooling, and capacity planning to improve the performance of the facility.”

    Layer3 Warns Against Hosting Data Abroad

    Data Center growth

    Africa’s cloud computing and data center industries have been growing consistently in recent years, with global hyperscalers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure already running major data centers on the continent.

    Africa Data Centers also plans to build ten hyperscale data centers in ten countries over the next two years to meet the growing demand.

  • US, Nigeria agree to deploy gas in push for renewable energy

    US, Nigeria agree to deploy gas in push for renewable energy

    The United States Special Envoy on Climate and member of the country’s security council, Mr John Kerry, yesterday assured Nigeria of the country’s technical assistance in its attempt to decarbonise its energy sources.

    Speaking when he visited the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, in Abuja, Kerry, a former Secretary of State in the US, said the two countries agreed to work closely in the deployment of gas as a transition effort as part of the move towards clean and renewable energy.

    Renewable Energy Start-ups in Africa

    Africa, which has over 1 billion citizens residing, is in an energy crisis as over 625 million people have no access to electricity which, according to the International Energy Agency, makes up 68% of the population. This can be considered ironic as the continent is a bedrock for natural resources, which it has in abundance. For instance, in the Northern and Southern Parts of the continent, there is a large coastline with wind power and wave power resources, but sadly there are under-utilized, which could have helped reduce the crisis in those parts of the continent.

    Read also: Kenya’s Electric Mobility Sector expands with Little’s Products

    Energy is an essential commodity as other sectors depend mostly on it; Major sectors such as Education, Agriculture, communication, Technology and even organisations and entrepreneurs suffer when there is a lack of electricity.
    The introduction of renewable energy has helped alleviate the situation, and many startups have ventured into it, but in this article, we will only be looking at 5 renewable startups in Africa:

    M-Kopa Solar
    Location: Kenya
    The startup, founded in 2011, sells solar home systems to low-income earners who naturally can’t afford it when paid once, but due to the system they operate in which the buyers are given a year to pay in full – it brings more flexibility to it. The company has stated that it prides itself in making high-quality electricity affordable, which makes it accessible to anyone. For its payments, it uses M-Pesa, a Kenyan fintech startup that is very popular and a role model to other new startups along that line in the world.
    After the buyer fully pays the cost of the solar system for a year, they now have full ownership of it and can enjoy free solar electricity. Its expansionist policy also has advanced operations in countries like Tanzania and Uganda.

    Nigeria Proposes Debt-For-Climate Swap Deal To Enable Africa’s Energy Transition

    Mobile Solar Cell Phone Kiosk
    Location: Rwanda
    It was founded by Henri Nyakarundi, who noticed it was difficult to get his phone charged when he went to his hometown in Rwanda as he lives in the united states, so he invented a Solar-powered kiosk which can charge 80 phones because, according to the World Bank, there are over 70% of the population, but only 25% of it has access to electricity.

    Shakti Energy
    Location: South Africa
    It was established to provide those in rural areas and off-grid communities access to safer lighting solutions. They provide users with Nuru Lights and LED-powered lights, which can last for 20 hours when on a full recharge. In a statement, the CEO of Shakti Energy, Vijay Mitha, said: “Shakti Energy sets up energy entrepreneurs in formal settlements and rural areas that aren’t connected to the electricity grid. These entrepreneurs use a pedal-powered generator to charge phones and portable lights in places that aren’t connected to the electricity grid.”

    Other startups are Off-Grid Electricity of Tanzania, Freedom Won of South Africa, and Mobisol of Germany, but operational in Rwanda through a partnership with MTN.