In this increasingly connected world, where everything from our coffee machines to our thermostats is becoming “smart,” it should come as no surprise that the IoT is starting to play a role in solar panel installation.

IoT— which stands for “the Internet of Things” — refers to any device that can connect to another device (such as a smartphone) via the internet. In other words, when you take an ordinary device and connect it to the internet, it gets an added level of intelligence that enables it to “communicate” in real-time with other devices.

The IoT has promising applications in solar energy generation, since it can mitigate the higher cost of maintenance and regulate power usage. Let’s see how solar solutions can be upgraded by IoT and how it can help you better manage your assets.

The integration of the IoT in a solar energy system 
To harness the IoT in renewable energy production, the generation, transmission, and distribution equipment are outfitted with smart sensors. This enables you to monitor and control the working of the equipment remotely via real-time connectivity.

A solar energy system for commercial use comes with some kind of monitor, which may be a physical monitor at your home or an app you can access online. Some providers don’t offer a monitoring service, in which case you can track solar energy production through the system’s inverter itself.

With a traditional sensor installed in the solar system, you can keep tabs on how your system is working, including your solar panels’ daily energy production. It also allows you to identify particular issues in your system should they crop up.

The IoT provides the same functions, but when your energy system is part of a massive network of similar devices, its newfound cognition improves the efficiency of the entire system. You can now automatically monitor and control a variety of elements in the system. 

The high-tech sensors collect and send large amounts of real-time data from energy meters and inverters which is then stored in the cloud. The data is processed and presented to you in the form of SMS notification, reports, alerts, mails, notifications and useful insights. 

Insights you can get from an IoT-connected solar energy system
The solar unit’s performance
Health of the PV panels, batteries, and overall system
Your energy usage
Actual vs. modeled energy production
The energy you supply to the grid
When and how you’re loading your system
System faults diagnostics
Predictive analytics
An IoT monitoring system will alert you as soon as anything goes wrong with your solar system. You don’t need to worry about issues going unnoticed as the installer will quickly diagnose and resolve any issues, which will reduce downtime. 

A final word about connectivity requirements
For a successful IoT enabled solar solution, it requires the availability of consistent internet connectivity. A wireless or fibre internet solution will serve as the backbone of the IoT features and functions, linking together all devices and systems. 

A high-speed, uncapped, low-latency internet connection is able to cope with big spikes of incoming data, making it the ideal fit for IoT purposes. This type of internet solution is less prone to poor network performance, which could cause you to miss important data indicating performance issues.

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Renewable energy is fast becoming a global trend. From a South African point of view, we have not seen the same growth as we currently see globally, and this is due to certain stumbling blocks.
Now, with the newly released Integrated Resource Plan, there is a marked increase in the focus on renewable energy in South Africa. The aforementioned stumbling blocks are moving out of the way and other solar companies will have the opportunity to compete in the market.

When mobile phones first became available, nobody fully understood the importance of the new technology. Many people still used their landlines to phone one another. But only a few short years later, mobile phones radically overhauled the traditional telco industry. I believe that the same will happen within the renewable energy space, particularly the solar industry. Distributed generation, i.e. the ability to generate the power where you need it, came to completely change the future landscape of utilities and this is only the beginning. I will talk more in-depth about the above points in the coming months.

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Solar has been hailed as one of the breakthrough solutions that will drive economic development in Africa. Experts have identified stand-alone solar as a cost-effective solution to the electrification challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where 548 million people still live without electricity [1]. In recognition of this, governments in countries like Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia and Malawi have added solar home systems (SHS) to their national electrification plans. Some of these governments have gone ahead to roll out programmes like the Solar Naija that aims to reach 5 million people with SHS and promote local assembly for the same.

The largest addressable markets for SHS in SSA are found in Nigeria and Ethiopia where 77 million and 60 million people respectively, do not have access to electricity. Other significant markets are found in Tanzania – 35 million people and Uganda – 32 million people, who lack electricity [2]. The total unelectrified population for Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe stands at 51 million people.
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Despite these prospects, the stand-alone solar sector, like all other sectors, was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Sales for SHS in different SSA countries dropped by 28% – 49% between December 2019 and June 2020. In Senegal, the decrease was mainly on cash sales while pay-as-you-go (PAYG) remained stable. Due to measures put in place to contain the pandemic, economic activity in SSA was projected to decline by 3.3% in 2020. The World Bank estimates that 40 million people are likely to slide into extreme poverty in Africa [3]. This means the progress that had been made with energy access in the continent will be affected and the number of people who cannot afford SAS will increase. Consequently, governments, investors, and development partners need to collaborate to address the affordability constraints for consumers and avail relief funding for SAS companies [4],[5].

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​Ford in Partnership with SolarAfrica, Embarks on Renewable Energy Programme for Silverton Assembly Plant, Vision to be 100% Green by 2024

How to convince someone to get smart energy? We took many questions from solar installers who were eager to understand how Smappee and more broadly, energy monitoring technology can help expand their business beyond their core solar markets and how best to sell their expanding solutions to their customers.

We understand that smart solar+consumption monitoring is unfamiliar to most consumers and even installers, so we wanted to provide installers with some suggestions for introducing smart energy monitoring to their customers, both old and new.

When to introduce smart energy monitoring? Find out the three points in the solar sales cycle where solar installers can introduce smart energy monitoring such as the Smappee:

1. During the initial home assessment
Some customers may be just learning about solar and energy efficiency with the purpose of saving money on their utility bill, but they may not be aware of where they’re wasting electricity or how they might be using it. To help customers be aware of their energy usage, a Smappee partner installer can install the Smappee energy monitoring system for several weeks and set a time in the future to go over the data collected. The installation is both quick and simple and Smappee is on hand to support installers to evaluate the valuable takeaways from the initial data captured.

This process will not only allow the installer to help prospect customers see potential energy habits and savings, they’ll also have personal engagements with customers, strengthening the company reputation for being helpful and insightful solar and smart home experts.

If the customer does not want to keep the Smappee monitor, it can be uninstalled in a few minutes and used for another prospect’s home.

2. As part of the initial solar package quote
If a potential customer is ready to go solar and start comparing services and pricing, smart energy monitoring such as Smappee can really help differentiate installers from the pack.

By including Smappee as an added value that’s included in the price, solar installers can offer to turn customers’ solar home into a future-ready smart solar home with intelligent and automated energy monitoring that can accommodate new capabilities as needed and, like solar, will pay for itself over time with improved energy efficiency savings.

3. As an additional service offer
Due to a variety of reasons, from an old roof to too much shading or lack of financing, not everyone is right or ready for solar. When these situations happen, solar installers can still retain a new customer by offering a Smappee energy monitoring system, which can provide valuable energy savings and establish a customer relationship for a future solar or energy storage installation. The same smart home service offering can also be made to old customers who elect against solar monitoring at the time of installation. With the added smart home benefits, the customer may now want monitoring and perhaps add a battery or EV charger, as well. Find out how Smappee helps optimise self-consumption.

We hope these tips will help installers to introduce energy monitoring to their customers. Our Smappee team will continue to provide more business development tips to our partner installers over the coming months.

Find out how Smappee partner, Enaio, convinces prospects of their saving potential, determine the ideal installation and accurately bills his clients, by putting Smappee at the core of his offering.

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Construction of South Africa’s largest renewable energy project to date – the Redstone concentrated solar power (CSP) plant – has commenced.

The R11.6 billion solar farm will be built roughly 30km east of Postmasburg in the Northern Cape and will have a generating output capacity of 100MW.

While this is less than the current largest solar power plant in South Africa – the De Aar project in the Northern Cape – it comes equipped with a 12-hour thermal storage system.

This makes it capable of persistently delivering electricity to almost 200,000 households, double the number powered by the De Aar plant.

The solar plant is expected to displace an estimated 440 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year.

The project is being led by California-based SolarReserve and Saudi developer, investor, and operator of power generation and water desalination plants ACWA Power, which secured financing from leading international and South African financial institutions.

Investors include the African Development Bank (AfDB), Absa Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), CDC Group, Nedbank Limited, Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), Investec Bank and Sanlam Life Insurance.

ACWA Power Chief Portfolio Management Officer and Acting Chief Investment Officer Rajit Nanda said the company was proud to play a role in South Africa’s decarbonisation efforts and grateful for its partners’ contributions to deliver power at an affordable cost.

“Following in the footsteps of the record-breaking Bokpoort CSP and deploying the same thermal salt storage system, Redstone CSP is set to be yet another ACWA Power flagship project in South Africa that directly benefits households in the area with remarkable plant performance,” Nanda stated.

CSP plants use numerous mirrors which concentrate light energy from the sun and convert it into heat which can then be channeled through a typical generator to generate electricity.

Redstone is a power tower-based system with a central receiver to which the sun’s rays are directed via a network of mirrors surrounding it.

The receiver contains a fluid – typically molten salt – which is heated to immediately make steam for electricity generation or storage.

ACWA Power said that in addition to providing clean and reliable energy to the national grid, the Redstone CSP will deliver tangible socio-economic benefits.

The construction project will create more than 2,000 jobs at its peak, including about 400 from the local community. It will also result in approximately 100 permanent direct jobs during the operating period.

Furthermore, the project will reach close to 44% local content on procurement during construction.

Commercials operations at Redstone CSP are expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2023, with  100% of design capacity expected to be reached within 365 days from that date.

Notably, it is expected to be the first renewable energy plant in the country to provide ancillary services at no cost to Eskom.

This would allow the power utility to tap into Redstone’s reserve resources when it requires additional capacity to serve electricity demand.

The image below shows a rendering of what the Redstone CSP will look like once constructed at its planned site in the Northern Cape.
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​Mineral Resources and Energy minister Gwede Mantashe says that his department is working with the Department of Public Works to integrate renewable energy sources into government buildings.

Responding in a written parliamentary Q&A, Mantashe said the plan aims to mainly use solar photovoltaic systems and energy efficiency technologies.

“Already, funding has been secured and (a) programme business plan developed with energy audits of more than 20 government buildings audited in the current financial year.

“The programme is envisaged to achieve 4,200 GWh savings through the installation of solar PV systems and integration with energy-efficient technologies in public schools, military facilities, and office government buildings.”

Mantsahe said that the programme is aligned with the recently promulgated regulations on mandatory display and submission of energy performance certificates for buildings.

Some of the projects which have already completed solar energy generation include:

Makhado Air Force Base in Limpopo (195 kWp);
Alfred Nzo District in the Eastern Cape, (85 kWp);
Harry Gwala District in KwaZulu Natal, (96 kWp);
ILembe District in KwaZulu Natal (103 kWp);
Blouberg Local  Municipality in Limpopo; (65 kWp);
Kheis Local Municipality in Northern Cape (45kWp).

New regulations

This week, Mantashe published new embedded generation regulations for public comment, in a move that is expected to help limit the impact of load shedding.

The gazette effectively raises the threshold for embedded generation from 1MW to 10MW, providing businesses and private individuals more room to build their own electricity supply away from Eskom’s grid.

However, the gazette includes the proviso that private groups who plan to use this embedded generation will have to register with National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA).

President Cyril Ramaphosa previously announced that government would look at increasing the embedded generation limit in his February 2021 state of the nation address.

“Recent analysis suggests that easing the licensing requirements for new embedded generation projects could unlock up to 5,000 MW of additional capacity and help to ease the impact of load shedding,” he said.

“We will therefore amend Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act, 2006 (Act 4 of 2006) within the next three months to increase the licensing threshold for embedded generation.

“This will include consultation among key stakeholders on the level at which the new threshold should be set and the finalisation of the necessary enabling frameworks.”

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Environmental design is becoming more and more relevant as we feel the effects of climate change on our planet.
​Artists, architects, and other designers are finding new ways to consider the impact of their work and to design less intrusively. Burning Man is a well-known community focused on art and self-expression, so it is no surprise that even here, environmental awareness is entering creative discussions. Mumbai architecture firm NUDES has designed Solar Mountain, one of 10 shortlisted proposals for LAGI 2020 Fly Ranch. Their design is a permanent installation on Burning Man’s 3,800-acre ranch that would produce 300 MWH of electricity annually.
The design features an array of solar panels fanning out from a central spine. The architects explain that this form was inspired by the natural landscape of Fly Ranch. NUDES believed that this dynamic curving form would fit in as another feature in the diverse landscape of wetlands, geysers, and hot and cold springs. The construction is planned with modular design elements of recycled wood and environmentally friendly materials. It is made up of four units, each with 182 solar panels of 300-watt capacity. With each unit’s daily generation potential, Solar Mountain would produce an estimated 318,645 kWh every year.

Solar Mountain is not just an interesting solar park to create renewable energy, though—it doubles as an interactive installation and community center for the participants of Burning Man. “The narrative behind the design is divided into three parts: grow energy, interact, and play,” explains Nuru Karim, founder and principal of NUDES.

As the solar panels fan out from the central spine, they create a semi-covered walkway for visitors that is enhanced by interesting light patterns cast by the strips of panels above.  Since the project was shortlisted and will move forward to another stage of design, we may soon learn of interesting building programs that could be included in the futuristic solar farm.

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LONDON, April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Globeleq, a leading independent power generation company in Africa, and its consortium partner, Sturdee Energy Southern Africa, an independent power producer focused on renewable energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, confirm they have been awarded preferred bidder status for two 15 MWac solar projects in the first tranche of the Kingdom of Eswatini's procurement programme for new generation capacity. 

The Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority (ESERA) officially released the intention to award notice on 14 April 2021 after evaluation of the bids submitted in November 2020.  The tender was originally launched in March 2020. 

Jonathan Hoffman, Globeleq's Chief Development Officer commented: "We are delighted to have the opportunity to support ESERA's strategy to increase domestic power generation and reduce reliance on imported power. As the first utility scale renewable IPPs in Eswatini, these projects will help stabilise the cost of electricity supply and increase the country's energy resilience, acting as a strong driver for growth and playing a part in the economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic."

The 15 MWac Balekane and 15 MWac Ngwenya projects will be located on separate parcels of private land in North Western Eswatini, in the Hhohho region, and connected to the existing Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) transmission system. Connection works will be undertaken by the Globeleq-Sturdee consortium and once commissioned, the new transmission lines and associated substation equipment will be transferred to the EEC, which will be responsible for their operation and maintenance.

James White and Andrew Johnson, Sturdee Energy's Executive Directors, also highlighted that these projects will contribute important diversification to Sturdee's project portfolio and expand its presence in the SADC region. They are also extremely appreciative of the hard work by the Sturdee and Globeleq teams to deliver such strong bids whilst navigating the challenges of COVID-19.
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LONGi Solar, said to be the world’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) technology company, is partnering with Durban-based solar PV panel manufacturer, ARTsolar, to meet the requirements of the South African Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement (RMIPPP) programme, and beyond.

LONGi, a Tier 1 solar PV manufacturer listed on the Shanghai stock exchange, supplies more than 30 GW of high-efficiency solar wafers and PV panels worldwide annually, which comprises about a quarter of global market demand.
​ARTsolar was established in Durban in 2010 by entrepreneurs Eshu Seevnarayan and Patrick Goss, who remain shareholders of the 100% South African-owned company. Its current PV panel production line was designed for a capacity of 300 MW a year, although due to market conditions over the last five years, it has been operating significantly below this level.

On March 19, 2021, DMRE Minister Gwede Mantashe announced preferred bidders for the RMIPPP programme, which alone will require some 2.2-million solar PV panels with a total capacity of about 1 300 MW for delivery of power into the grid by the end of August 2022. To achieve this ambitious target, the projects must reach financial closure by the end of July 2021.

A further two procurement rounds of green energy from solar PV projects, each with a capacity of 1000 MW, are expected to commence in 2021, facilitated by the IPP Office of the DMRE for South Africa’s Renewable Energy IPP Procurement (REIPPP) programme in terms of the national Integrated Resource Plan for electricity, IRP 2019.

LONGi and ARTsolar have ambitions to be the major supplier of locally made solar PV panels for the RMIPPP and REIPPP programmes, and for subsequent procurements of solar power in South Africa and the region, for mainly utility-scale PV power plants.

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