Demand for FPV panels will be driven by the fact that FPV panels’ installation doesn’t require colossal land areas and the FPV projects are cost-efficient.

Market research company, Global Industry Analysts Inc. (GIA), has published a new market study on floating solar panels or floating photovoltaics (FPV), which are also known as floatovoltaics, which shows that the market is set to reach 4,8GW by 2026, from the current 1,6GW as of 2021.

The report titled “Floating Solar Panels – Global Market Trajectory & Analytics” shows that demand for FPV panels will also be driven by the fact that FPV panels’ installation doesn’t require colossal land areas and the FPV projects are cost-efficient.

FPVs float on water and an embedded solar tracker follows the sun’s movement and places the solar panel to increase the time of exposure to sunlight and enhance the complete efficiency of the FPV system. Moreover, floatovoltaics allow low maintenance and management costs and remove the requirement for costly land areas, which considerably decreases the cost of generating solar power and frees up the land.
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The water-based PV systems are beneficial in several aspects such as reduced algae growth and evaporation. Floatovoltaics additionally reduce PV’s operating temperature and costs of generating solar energy. As the water bodies are generally government-owned, it is easy to obtain permits for water bodies compared to land. Furthermore, FPVs provide shade assisting the algae to bloom and reducing water evaporation, and although power generation on individual sites is not equal to ground mounts, the FPVs are suitable for the cities having a limited roof or land space.

Markets with the most potential for floating solar
FPV panel projects are possible to set up on unused water bodies, which are anticipated to be the prime driving factor for the FPV panels’ market growth. Countries like India, China, Germany, the USA, and Japan emerged as solar powerhouses, and the growing solar energy-based electricity production, in turn, boosted the market growth of FPV panels. The US has over 24,000 water bodies that are man made which are anticipated to be useful in FPV development, as man-Made water bodies are easy to manage and have infrastructure and roads in place. 
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The City of Ekurhuleni will soon receive between 150 and 680 megawatts of additional power from renewable energy sources.
According to the municipality’s annual report for 2020/21, it awarded 46 tenders to independent power producers (IPPs) to generate additional renewable energy for the city.
“The City is finalising the implementation of the City programme to purchase electricity from the appointed power producers,” it said.
Ekurhuleni’s launched its project to decrease its reliance on Eskom in 2017, and as per a SABC News report, the municipality sent out a tender to IPPs in the same year.
Ekurhuleni released a statement in July 2020 explaining that renewable energy sources would be a cost-effective solution for the city, adding that solar power is the best-suited technology for its needs.
“Energy supply management is likely to be one of the most complex problems for the city for now and in the immediate future, particularly being the industrial hub of the country,” it said.
“The department has identified Solar PV as the best available technology to invest in, in terms of renewable energy to augment the current status of increasing energy demand,” said Makhosazana Mabaso, a member of the Mayoral Committee for Environment Resources Management.
The municipality said it had already installed solar panels on most city building rooftops, which had also been connected to the national grid to ease pressure on the existing energy supply.

“Meanwhile, the city is also increasing solar panel installations on individual households, which will decrease residential household consumption,” it added.
According to Ekurhuleni, a diversified energy supply will help reduce costs, the frequency of power cuts and theft, and the city’s infrastructure maintenance requirements.
Adding renewable energy to its power supply will also help Ekurhuleni reduce greenhouse gas emissions and push it further towards South Africa’s Climate Change Strategy goals.
The Climate Change Strategy was approved in August 2020 and aims to reduce South Africa’s annual greenhouse gas emissions to 398-440 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030.
This would represent a reduction of around 28%.
“This Strategy defines the country’s vulnerabilities, plans to reduce those vulnerabilities and leverage opportunities, outlines the required resources for such action, whilst demonstrating progress on climate change adaptation,” South Africa’s Minister of Environment, Forestry, and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy, said.

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Our new member, Eastman Power, is diversifying to service Southern Africa.

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​Solar panels, batteries, inverters, solar street lights and accessories are available with a global presence committed to best customer experience, no matter the location.

Prospective agents/distributors are welcome to enquire about our services and/or products.

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Solar panels that are 35% efficient may be just a few years away.

In 1961, William Shockley and Hans-Joachim Queisser calculated that the maximum theoretical efficiency of a silicon-based solar panel is 30%. In other words, less than a third of the sunlight that strikes a solar panel can be turned into electricity.

Today, only high-end solar panels intended for use in spacecraft get near that maximum efficiency limit. Those panels are far too expensive for normal commercial use. The average panels used on rooftops and in solar farms are much less expensive, but have an efficiency of around 22%.

The problem is that silicon only responds to certain wavelengths, particularly those in the red and yellow portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Longer light waves in the infrared part of the spectrum are too weak to create an electrical current. Shorter light waves in the blue and green part of the spectrum don’t create any electrical current when they strike the silicon in a solar cell — at most, they bounce off. At worst, they generate heat, which degrades the efficiency of panels.

A Bright Idea Becomes A New Business
In 2014, Akshay Rao and a team of researchers at the University of Cambridge had a bright idea. What if there was a way to convert those blue and green light waves into red light waves? That would boost the efficiency of a solar panel to around 35% — roughly 50% more than the conventional solar panels in use today. Can you image what that would mean to the world of renewable energy?
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The University of Cambridge took that idea and used it as the basis of a new technology company known as Cambridge Photon Technology. Here’s how it works, according to a study published in the journal Nature.

“Rao developed a photon multiplier film made up of a layer of an organic polymer called pentacene studded with lead selenide quantum dots — small, light emitting clumps of inorganic material. The polymer absorbs blue and green photons and converts them into pairs of excitons. These excitons flow to the quantum dots, which absorb them and emit lower energy red or infrared photons.

“When the film is placed on top of a silicon solar cell, the light from the quantum dots shines onto the silicon. Meanwhile, the red and infrared wavelengths directly from the sun pass through the polymer film and hit the silicon as they normally would. The result is that more usable photons strike the silicon, increasing production of electrical current.”

“You’re preserving the total energy that comes in and out, but you’re making the silicon receive a higher photon flux in the portion of the spectrum that it’s good at converting into electricity,” Wilson says.

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Fossil fuels dominate the world’s energy generation, but research shows that solar energy is now cheaper than coal.

The study found that electricity from solar generation is approximately 63% cheaper per megawatt-hour (MWh) than fossil fuels, and according to the World Energy Outlook for 2021, solar photovoltaic and wind power are the cheapest sources of new electricity generation.

The cost of electricity from coal dropped $2 (R31) per MWh between 2009 and 2019, while prices associated with the generation of solar power decreased by 89% over the same period.

In 2009, electricity generated from solar sources cost $359 (R5,503) per MWh. By 2019, costs had dropped to $40 (R613) per MWh.

Interestingly, the price of electricity from nuclear generation increased over the ten years.

This raises the question: Why has the cost of electricity from solar generation dropped so sharply compared to fossil fuels?

For coal and nuclear power, the cost depends mainly on two factors — the price of the fuel burnt and the plant’s operating costs.

Solar power running costs are comparatively low and there are no fuel costs. Therefore, the major driver of solar power generation costs is the technology itself.

For electricity from solar power generation to become more affordable, the price of solar modules first had to reduce, which only occurred as more of them were produced and manufacturers reached economies of scale.
Phase 1 of Solar Capital’s De Aar Solar Farm, the biggest solar farm in Southern Africa
While it is probable that this would have occurred naturally as improvements to the production process would have been discovered over time, the global push towards adopting renewable energy generation is likely to have accelerated enhancements to the manufacturing process.

From there, a positive feedback cycle helped drive down costs.

An increase in demand for solar modules resulted in more being deployed. In turn, this caused prices to fall, creating more demand.

Our World in Data reported the findings of a study by de La Tour et al., which showed that the price of solar modules had reduced by 99.6% since 1976.

The 2013 study used experience curve models to predict what the cost of solar modules would be in 2020.

“With each doubling of installed capacity the price of solar modules dropped on average by 20.2%,” the report stated.

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Financial services firm Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) has been announced as the headline sponsor for solar power and energy storage industry event Solar Power Africa, which will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from February 16 to 18.

Organised by events firm Messe Frankfurt in partnership with SAPVIA, Solar Power Africa is a three - day event and attendees will benefit from direct access to expert insights and solutions to a range of challenges, as well as key trends and developments in the renewable energy market. RMB prides itself on strategic sponsorships that reinforce their value proposition and allow them to move beyond the scope of banking to benefit the individuals and communities in which they operate. “RMB is committed to enabling the future of renewable energy. We have a deep understanding of the sector and have become a trusted partner, delivering innovative funding solutions for renewable energy projects across Africa,” says RMB infrastructure sector solutions head of power and renewables Daniel Zinman

Amukelani Mathebula Marketing Manager Tel. +27105996170 Amukelani.Mathebula www.messefrankfurt.com
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South Africa has the potential to take the lead in Africa’s transition to a green economy. The development of solar power projects will enable the country to meet its climate commitments as well as ensure security of supply for both domestic and commercial electricity users. “We are delighted to have the support of RMB for the forthcoming Solar Power Africa event. The roster of speakers and exhibitors is testament to the strength of the sector, which is only set to grow as investors seek to make more sustainable investments,” says Messe Frankfurt South Africa Group exhibitions director Joshua Low. “We are looking forward to supporting industry, financiers and government to capitalise on this dynamic sector.” Organised by Messe Frankfurt, and in partnership with the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA), Solar Power Africa is a 3 - day event where attendees will benefit from direct access to expert insights and solutions to a range of challenges, as well as key trends and developments in the renewable energy market. 

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has reported significant interest from businesses in generating their own power, reports the Sunday Times.

This follows government’s announcement in June 2021 that the threshold for self-generation had increased to 100MW.

“There is a lot of interest expressed with the increase of the registration threshold to 100MW — we have received more than ten inquiries from the industry,” Nersa spokesperson Charles Hlebela told the Times.

However, Hlebela said that while interest is high, Nersa has received far fewer actual applications to register for self-generation.

Six plants capable of producing over 1MW are set to go online in 2022, with the largest expected to have a capacity of 10MW.

Energy minister Gwede Mantashe amended the Electricity Regulation Act on 12 August 2021 to allow private individuals and businesses to generate up to 100MW of electricity without a licence from Nersa.

This came after President Cyril Rampahosa promised that government would relax the regulations in his State of the Nation address a month before.

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Experts believe that lifting the self-generation threshold will enable businesses and communities hamstrung by load-shedding to reduce their dependency on Eskom’s grid.

It will also help Eskom sustain a stable electricity supply while conducting maintenance on its ageing coal-powered generating fleet.

At its interim financial results presentation on 15 December, Eskom announced that it would lease the land near its power stations through an auction to private investors for renewable electricity generation.

The initiative will kick off in Mpumalanga, and private power producers may use the land to generate electricity for their own consumption or for sale to third parties.

Eskom explained that Mpumalanga was selected as the starting point for the project as it has the most coal-fired plants with established transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Eskom’s Komati power station, which could be converted into a solar farm
Eskom has applied for an electricity price increase of around 20.5%, which is not welcome news for South Africans who are already unhappy with the price of this utility.

However, Nersa claims that the actual jump in tariffs could be around 32.15% based on external factors not included in Eskom’s calculations.

These include the following:

R14 billion for RCAs that had already been approved, but not realised, for the third multi-year price determination (MYPD3) period.
R3.5 billion from the 2019/2020 RCA and R742 million for the Short-Term Power Purchase Programme (STPPP).
A refund of R23 billion for an amount Nersa unlawfully deducted from Eskom as revenue was also factored into the regulator’s equation.

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Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele will join a delegation from Sasol, Infrastructure South Africa and the Northern Cape provincial government in Port Nolloth on January 17 for a stakeholder engagement aimed at starting a green hydrogen project in Boegoebaai.

The meeting and site visit will serve as an important interaction between government and Sasol in the implementation of the memorandum of agreement (MoA) signed and announced at the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa (Sidssa) of October 2021.

During Sidssa 2021, green hydrogen was identified as a “big frontier” that represents both future and current growth and investment opportunities for South Africa.

Through coordination by the Presidency, Sasol, the Northern Cape provincial government and the Gauteng provincial government launched three agreements at the Sidssa 2021, underpinning their green hydrogen ambitions.

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These include an MoA between the Northern Cape provincial government and Sasol, which sets out that Sasol will be the anchor developer of the planned Boegoebaai Green Hydrogen Special Economic Zone, pending a detailed feasibility study.

It also includes a heads of agreement between the Northern Cape provincial government and the Port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, to act as a demand aggregator for green hydrogen into Europe.

Lastly, an MoA was concluded between the Gauteng provincial government and Sasol, for Sasol to develop green hydrogen production facilities in Gauteng aimed at decarbonising domestic industry.

Globally, the demand for green hydrogen and green hydrogen-based products, such as ammonia and synthetic jet fuels, is rising.

This is off the back of national and corporate net-zero commitments aimed at keeping global warming below 2 oC above pre-industrial levels. Due to the multi-sectoral implications of producing green hydrogen, the Presidency plays a convening and coordinating role across government with respect to green hydrogen.
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The European Union’s Landmark Proposal to Label Natural Gas as ‘Green’ Energy is Good for Africa and our Energy Industry.

Africa’s call for a just and inclusive energy transition has been answered through the European Union’s landmark proposal to label natural gas as a ‘green’ energy source. Historically, Africa has always fought for sustainable development because we know, first-hand, the ravaging effects that even minute changes in climate can have on the continent and its populations. But to develop sustainably, Africa must first industrialize itself. It must have the same opportunities as Europe and other western countries. The point that natural gas serves as a transitional energy source is one that has been promoted by African nations for a long time and therefore, the African Energy Chamber (www.EnergyChamber.org) hails the EU’s proposal as a landmark development that justifies a positive outlook for an inclusive energy transition.

It has taken a crisis in energy availability to bring about policies that could increase Africa’s energy supply. The current pressure from The West to acclimatize to cleaner energy systems has so far been exclusive in recognizing that the transition may differ in form and timing from one region to another. By restricting investment into energy sources, such as gas, Africa has stood the chance of being left behind during the energy transition, which is counterproductive and regressive.

“We have had our disagreements with our European friends, however, there has always been constructive, behind-the-scenes dialogue with European policy makers. They listened, worked, and let us make the case for Africa’s low-carbon LNG and these discussions have been critical in getting us to see eye-to-eye on gas, a lot of work still needs to be done to make this a reality” stated NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, who added, “The demonization of Africa’s gas industry needs to stop, and investments need to come into the sector. While we continue this engagement, it is important that the oil and gas industry focuses its investment on further reducing carbon emissions within the gas value chain. Sustainable development and making energy poverty history will require Africa to increase gas within its energy mix, which will give us a fighting chance to reduce the continent’s carbon footprint, even when we are still under 4% of global emissions.”

Africa faces unique challenges and must be allowed to time its own energy transition according to its own needs. The proposal to label natural gas as ‘green’ energy is what a just energy transition looks like, and now, we need to finance it. To capitalize on this, the African Green Energy Summit, to be held at African Energy Week this year, will clearly outline initiatives and positions ahead of this year’s COP27.
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​Now, at the dawn of a new year, Europe and Africa can collaborate and cooperate and stride in allegiance towards a brighter future. The two continents can set aside their differences and strive towards sustainable development together, paving the way for a new approach to Africa’s energy industry, one that serves the whole world and all its people as opposed to a privileged few. Should most EU members back the proposal, then it will become law from 2023, which the African Energy Chamber hopes will stand to help the U.S. recognize natural gas as a clean fuel, which it unfortunately does not under the Biden Administration’s current clean power plans.

This new proposal will pave the way for new European investments in natural gas in Africa and will therefore allow Europe to unlock billions of euros in finance and sustainable energy funds to support gas as a transitional energy source. The EU will want to import whatever natural gas Africa develops, which is constructive for project funding and will open doors to have candid discussions about furthering energy availability across the continent.

Some countries, like Senegal, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, Mauritania, Libya, Cameroon, Algeria, and Equatorial Guinea, have taken steps to monetize their natural resources to develop and industrialize independently. Thus, we need to give them time to realize the benefits of their strategic efforts and facilitate their own sovereignty when adhering to the energy transition. By using natural gas as a feedstock to create other value-added products, like petrochemicals, from fertilizers to ammonia, revenue can be used to build infrastructure, from pipelines to ports and roadways, and we can therefore open the doors to economic diversification for other African countries as well.

“Despite predictions that demand for African LNG is expected to grow for the foreseeable future, investments in gas exploration have been hit hard by a short-sighted bias against our low-carbon natural gas resources. This has led to a reluctance towards investing in supply projects because of the fractured global outlook towards natural gas,” continued Ayuk, concluding that, “African nations must be more pragmatic. If exploration and production companies must wait one or two years before their proposed projects are sanctioned, then the prospects for a sustainable African energy future will diminish rapidly. These practices, which help protect the interests of oil-producing nations, made sense when crude sold for $100 per barrel and before the energy transition took center stage, but they don’t make sense now.” Concluded Ayuk

While the African Energy Chamber hails the proposal as a win for Africa, it is not a time to regress to the continent’s old ways. Now is the time for African oil and gas producers to do everything in their power to encourage as much exploration and production activity as possible, particularly through International Oil Companies, National Oil Companies and African Independents. In the long term, African producers of oil and gas will continue to rely on the industry’s revenue to sustain economic growth and guarantee a just and inclusive energy transition, and should lobby for knowledge transfers, training, gas monetization programs, and other strategic opportunities so that their oil and gas operations can create pathways towards sustainable development and diversification.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.
SOURCE
African Energy Chamber

Very informative video