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More African Countries Tap Solar Energy To Meet Surging Power Demand

More African Countries Tap Solar Energy To Meet Surging Power Demand

By Helen Nyambura-Mwaura | From Reuters

Cut in half by the equator, sunshine is one thing that Africa has in abundance.

Now a growing number of African enterprises are tapping this under-utilized source to keep their businesses running.

One of Kenya’s largest tea producers, Williamson Tea , has installed a 1 megawatt (MW) plant at an estate in the Rift Valley, slashing grid reliance by nearly a third and reducing the need for back-up diesel generators.

To put this in perspective, a single MW can generally power several hundred middle-class households.

Solarcentury, the company behind Williamson Tea’s installation, has also been contracted to build an 858 kilowatt plant on the parking lot of a Nairobi mall, and says there is a potential 40 MW pipeline across four east African countries.

“One thing many countries in Africa have is plenty of sunshine and now we are at a stage where the cost of solar technology can enable them to use that sunshine to get low cost power,” said Solarcentury’s regional director Dan Davies.

The British-based firm targets intensive energy users such as flower farms that need to keep cut roses refrigerated well in advance of Valentine’s or Mothers’ Day.

Over-stretched African national grids often lapse into darkness as rapid economic growth piles pressure on electricity networks already lagging demand.

The 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa, with a combined population of 800 million, produce roughly the same amount of power as Spain, a country of just 46 million people.

To keep machines running, companies have had to invest in diesel generators, one of the more expensive sources of power. Governments too are contracting independent producers to run expensive heavy-oil-fired generators to plug network shortfalls.

Most sub-Saharan countries do not have much solar energy and depend on hydro-power, coal or natural gas to turn turbines.

Generators using gasoline or diesel cost at least $300 per megawatt hour (MWh), estimates the International Energy Agency (IEA), while solar power is nearly as expensive at $200 per MWh.

Read more at Reuters