Electrification is core to development and mini grids are expected to play a critical role in meeting the UN Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) goal of universal access by 2030. It is the strategic plan of Governments in the region to develop and promote renewable energy generation through mini grids while also promoting public-private partnerships for implementation.

The 5th Africa Mini Grids Summit 2019 will convene on May 8-10 in Nairobi, Kenya.
This fifth edition of the Africa-wide conference will once again gather electricity regulators, utilities operators, mini
grids developers, financiers, engineering and consulting experts, technology providers, and development agencies to
share their invaluable expertise and experience in providing for the continent's rapidly-increasing power requirements.
Electrification is core to development and mini grids are expected to play a critical role in meeting the UN Sustainable
Energy for All (SE4ALL) goal of universal access by 2030. It is the strategic plan of Governments in the region to
develop and promote renewable energy generation through mini grids while also promoting public-private
partnerships for implementation.
This Summit brings together all stakeholders to discuss key policy issues and best practices to accelerate mini grids
deployment.
Regional energy authorities leading the discussions at this 2019 Summit include the Energy Regulatory
Commission of Kenya, the Ministry of Energy of Kenya, the Rural Electrification Authority of Zambia, the Rural
Electrification Agency of Uganda, along with top officials from Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, Botswana, and Ethiopia.
Among the distinguished experts providing new knowledge and insights are: Prof AbuBakr S Bahaj, Professor of
Sustainable Energy and Head of Energy & Climate Change Division, University of Southampton from the UK;
Balthasar Klimbie, Key Expert Rural Energy, The European Commission's Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) for
the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) Initiative from The Netherlands; Edem Bensah, Senior Scientist with the
Centre for Energy, Environment, and Sustainable Development of Ghana; and Dramani Bukari, Project Manager
at SNV Netherlands Development Organisation.
Prof AbuBakr Bahaj, Conference Chair and Head of the Energy and Climate Change at the University of
Southampton, UK noted: “The International Energy Agency, has indicated that to achieve 100% electrification by
2030, we need to rely on solutions that do not depend on a centralised electrical grid. This Mini Grid Summit is one of
the most interesting meetings addressing electricity access for productive use. It brings together policy makers,
relevant government organizations, developers and academics under one roof to thresh out pertinent issues related to
access and to discuss pathways to deliver on the UN Sustainable Development Goals especially SDG7. The meeting
is intimate with a lot of time devoted to discussions and debate, with an added bonus of visiting one of the pioneering
mini grid projects in Africa."
Private sector stakeholders who will share their expertise and practical applications at the 2019 Summit include:
Nicole Poindexter, CEO & Founder of Black Star Energy; Richard Mori, CEO of Mesh Power Rwanda; Steve
Wasira, Vice President of Business Development at Virunga Power, and John Kidenda, Director of PowerGen
Renewable Energy; among others.
Scaling Finance for Mini Grids has been a major challenge. Leading the discussions in this include international
financiers Clifford J Aron, President & Founding Principal, GreenMax Capital Group, USA, Humphrey Wireko,
Senior Associate, CrossBoundary Energy Access & Gerard Hendriksen, Team Leader, GMG, IED amongst others.
The CEO of the conference-organizing company, Magenta Global Pte Ltd, Singapore, Maggie Tan, added:
“Improving electrification to the 600 million Africans currently living without access to modern energy services is of
paramount priority. Proactive changes to the regulatory environment, financing facilities & PPP structures are
needed. The time is right to unlock resources and the technology is available to create economically and financially
sustainable mini grids to power communities and businesses.” Ms Tan encouraged all companies and organizations
to contribute to the development of this renewable energy sector by being part of this key event.
The 5
th Africa Mini Grids Summit 2019 is held in collaboration with Knowledge Partner Energy for Development
(e4D) Network / University of Southampton and supported by: the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE), the
Africa Minigrid Developers Association (AMDA); the South African Alternative Energy Association (SAAEA),
the Uganda National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Alliance (UNREEEA),
The two-day event will be held at the Hotel InterContinental in Nairobi, Kenya.
​
Register here......

F​inancially-constrained power utility Eskom has signed a $180 million loan agreement with the New Development Bank (NDB) for a renewable energy integration and transmission augmentation project.

Under the agreement, the NDB will provide a loan with sovereign guarantee to Eskom. The NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and SA to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries.

The loan facility comes at a time Eskom is struggling to keep the lights on. President Cyril Ramaphosa recently said the severe financial and operational challenges being experienced by Eskom are as a result of a number of factors, from state capture to poor maintenance of its power plants.

The loan agreement was signed by Xian Zhu, NDB vice-president and chief operations officer, and Calib Cassim, chief financial officer of Eskom.

The NDP's Project Finance Facility (PFF) will be used to support the development of grid connection infrastructure, which is vital for the development of renewable energy projects, says Eskom.

It adds the PFF will support renewable energy development and reduce the country's reliance on fossil fuels.

​The project will integrate a total of 670MW of renewable energy into Eskom's grid. Modern grid connection infrastructure will be used for renewable energy projects and augmentation of the Eskom transmission network to the identified areas.

The project will also help increase electricity supply to the targeted areas for sustainable development.

According to the power utility, the project will enhance the country's capacity for renewable energy while achieving sustainable growth. It also aligns with the bank's focus to support projects that aim at developing renewable energy sources.

"We are happy to support this important project that will contribute to the development of grid connection infrastructure in South Africa and support the shift to a more sustainable energy path in the country," says Zhu.

"The project is coherent with the bank's focus on projects that incorporate sustainability from their inception. Moreover, we believe that supporting South Africa's energy sector is fully in line with the bank's mandate and our role as a reliable development partner."

Eskom's Cassim says: "The successful conclusion of this inaugural transaction with NDB will significantly contribute towards driving Eskom's goals to reduce South Africa's CO2 emissions.

"Eskom welcomes the support from NDB and we look forward to fostering a valuable partnership with this organisation whose mission is to enhance infrastructure for sustainable development in its member countries."

Commenting on the deal, Brenda Martin, chairperson of renewable energy industry body, the South African Wind Energy Association, says Eskom's role and duties as sole purchaser of power has been reinforced by government and the courts since early 2018.

This after the power utility had for some time been blamed for delaying the signing of renewable energy projects. The 27 outstanding power purchase agreements were eventually signed last year.

"With construction for Round 4 projects now under way and with the urgent need for new additions of power, the industry anticipates Eskom will recognise the need to fulfil its mandate to government and South Africa and not inhibit further investment in renewable energy," says Martin.

She adds that while the private sector covers significant costs of connecting to the grid up to the point of connection, Eskom as owner of the grid has to cover its own costs routinely associated with additions of new power such as deep connection costs.

"These routine operating costs for the grid owner are recoverable in the tariff. In a power system where the utility is a vertically integrated monopoly, this is quite routine. This is another reason why restructure of the SA power system is advisable."

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“Mini grids could very quickly sort out a lot of the biggest challenges that South Africa is having with its energy supply at the moment” says Dr Sam Duby, Africa Director for TFE Energy and mini grid expert.
He adds: “deregulation would open a market for people to produce power and sell power and that would revolutionise the energy landscape in South Africa. Technically it wouldn’t be a difficult or complex thing to do; there are plenty of precedents around the world where it has worked really well.”
Mini grids have become increasingly important on the continent and are being built at a rapid rate with more than 2000 mini grids currently across Africa. Says Dr Duby: “it’s a combination of people waking up to the fact that it is the only realistic solution for remote and rural electrification, combined with the ever falling costs of the technology that make it increasingly viable.
At the same time you have got governments starting to see precedents, starting to see regulations and policy landscapes that have worked and are not quite so scared of it as a route. Slowly the regulation side is easing and as a result the sector is growing. This is also echoed by an increase in investment, both from the donor community as well as the private community. Mini grids are hugely important now and ever more so going forward.”

Towns can become 100% energy independent
The biggest challenge is South Africa’s regulated energy market, he explains: “in the context of what is happening in South Africa’s energy landscape now, the recently rolling blackouts and huge amounts of pressure on the ageing supply, the generators.”

“Effectively,” says Dr Duby, “if we had more of a deregulated market and people were allowed to build their own power sources, whether it is a vineyard with solar panels on the roof, and to feed any surplus into the grid, you would have these decentralised nodes of generation, all of which were feeding into the grid. This means we wouldn’t be so reliant on what currently are just a few sources of energy.”

“So whole communities and towns could become 100% energy independent. Interestingly, if you look at mini grids in poor parts of sub-Saharan Africa, they are isolated nodes of generation and supply. You can imagine as that grows, these nodes linking together to create a mesh if you like. And that is an incredibly robust, resilient framework for energy infrastructure anywhere.

Creating a market for independently produced energy would also very quickly incentivise and unlock investment into the space. As more projects were built and generation capacity added, you would also very quickly get more system resilience. Blackouts really could be a thing of the past.“

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The New Development Bank (NDB) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) have signed a $300-million loan agreement for the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction and Energy Sector Development project.

The NDB will provide the loan to the DBSA without a sovereign guarantee.
The loan will be in the form of a two-step loan and will be on-lent to the DBSA’s identified subprojects within the wind, solar and biomass energy sectors, in particular.

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction and Energy Sector Development project is designed to support renewable energy projects in South Africa and help the economy shift to a more sustainable energy path through structural transformation of the energy sector with emerging renewable technologies.

The objective of the project is to facilitate investments in renewable energy that will contribute to the power generation mix and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in South Africa, in line with the South African government’s Integrated Resource Plan and its target of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions as articulated in the National Development Plan 2030.

According to a statement issued on Monday, the project will bring significant developmental impacts through the subprojects, particularly related to environmental and social benefits from the reduction in CO2 emissions, the increase in generation capacity from renewable energy sources, and the increase in the efficiency of the energy sector in South Africa.

The project is also expected to contribute to unlocking private sector investment and increasing the availability of long-term funds for projects in the energy sector in the country.

The loan agreement was signed by NDB VP and COO Xian Zhu and DBSA CEO Patrick Dlamini during the fourth yearly meeting of the NDB in South Africa. 

Source.....

​South Africans have been urged to become more energy efficient by changing their usage behaviour and using complementary energy sources. 
"The CSIR advised South Africans to use only reputable suppliers and contractors registered with parent associations."

While the usage of alternative energy strategies can minimise the impact of load shedding or grid outages, they can also assist households to save money, energy experts from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) said on Thursday.

They were briefing the media in Pretoria on how South Africans can alleviate the impact of load shedding.

Principal researcher Jarrad Wright said shifting electricity demand by using electricity at different times of the day and week can also help to save significantly on electricity use and monthly household electricity bills.

“Moving the use of electricity around to different times of the day or week can help the power system significantly.

“At the same time, we need to continue to install energy-efficient LED lighting, as well as energy efficient and smart appliances, such as fridges, washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers, while thinking of improving electric water geyser efficiency with geyser blankets and piping insulation,” said Wright.

Wright said households can also shift to alternative power sources such as clean-burning cookstoves, increased household braai and replacing electric geysers with a solar water heater.

The CSIR advised South Africans to use only reputable suppliers and contractors registered with parent associations. – SAnews.gov.za

Two energy experts have slated Eskom’s leadership, arguing that the Eskom board should be sacked and a new CEO with an engineering background and energy experience should be appointed.

Speaking to SABC News, energy expert Ted Blom said he has never seen a “bunch of amateurs” running a company as is the case with Eskom.

Blom said the current Eskom board has been in place for over a year, but the situation at the power utility is now worse than under the previous corrupt board.

“This board is ineffective, they do not have the necessary experience and the chairman is conflicted,” said Blom.

Blom said the ANC government employed people who do not know what is going on because it refuses to look outside of the party for people with the required skills to run Eskom.

He said the solution is to appoint an interim board consisting of people who used to run Eskom effectively until the problems are resolved.

Get a new CEO
Transform RSA President Adil Nchabeleng concurred with Blom, saying Eskom’s leadership had ample warning and time to resolve the problems at the power utility.

“Management is refusing to raise its head. The board has not spoken. The minister is nowhere to be found. No one knows what is going on,” said Nchabeleng.

He added that Eskom’s board is “chaired by a person who knows nothing about energy, who has admitted that he is not an energy expert”.

“The board should have by now been recused and a new board should have been appointed,” said Nchabeleng.

He said that an experienced CEO with a strong engineering background and understanding of the energy sector should have been appointed.

Source....

​While load-shedding is expected to continue plaguing South Africa for at least the next six months, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) energy systems senior engineer Joanne Calitz has also warned consumers to expect electricity prices to increase by about another 36% by 2021.

This is drawn from a comparison over the past decade, which has seen energy prices in the country skyrocket from about 85c/kWh in 2008, to an anticipated R1.16/kWh in 2021.

This, she added, is equal to an increase of about 300% from 2008 to 2018 alone.

"These tariffs are the average Eskom tariff. As a residential customer, you would be more accustomed to the price range of around R1.50/kWh to R2/kWh. What this would mean for you by 2021, is that it will be around R2.50/kWh. This really speaks to the affordability of electricity for households going forward,” she said.

Calitz highlighted, moreover, that in just the first three months of this year, load-shedding across the country had amounted to 769 GWh. This is just over half of what load-shedding amounted to in 2015, she added.

March has been the most load-shedding-intensive month thus far, she pointed out, accounting for 595 GWh of the total 769 GWh of load-shedding.

Meanwhile, South African consumers are struggling to survive amid increased inflation, including of fuel prices and electricity tariffs, and CSIR principal engineer Dr Jarrad Wright on Thursday provided some tips to help mitigate load-shedding, while also saving on costs.

Firstly, Wright said energy efficiency would help consumers use less electricity, and in effect save on paying for it, by investing in their households.

He suggested the use of light-emitting diode (LED) lights; electric geyser blankets and/or pipe insulation; air conditioning set-point changes; and the installation of energy efficient and smart appliances for an overall reduction in electricity use.

These methods are some of the cheaper and most environment-friendly options, he explained, noting that consumers could expect to pay between R50 and R80 per LED light in the household; while consumers could expect to pay between R3 000 and R10 000 per energy efficient or smart appliance.

While the latter is more expensive, it will have the biggest impact.

The cheapest option, Wright noted, would be to adjust the air conditioning set point, which would cost the consumer nothing.

However, should consumers not have capital available in the short term, Wright suggested that consumers consider moving the use of electricity around to different times of the day. This would, in turn, assist the power system.

As an example, Wright highlighted the use of a timer on an electric geyser and pool pump.

Further, simple behavioural changes, such as changing the time at which one cooks, cleans or does washing, would have a larger impact on relieving pressure on the national grid.

“By just changing simple behaviours [like these], it would significantly reduce morning and evening demand, which is when the system is the most constrained”.

Should capital be available to the consumer, another option would be for the consumer to invest in generating their own electricity, which can be achieved through standby generators, rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) installations, inverters for batteries or a combination of all three.

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It’s a very late call for this next training event next week Tuesday. We do know that these weeks are the most busiest of the year. But we still want to run a ESS Training to help you in understanding and installing energy storage systems. It will be a half day where you will have all the specialists from BMZ, Victron and SMA in one session. Its worth your time!
 
Training: IBC Solar – ESS (Energy Storage Systems)  
Tuesday morning 2nd April at SARETEC, Cape Town with
Bjoern Schenk from BMZ
Andre du Rand from Victron
Stefan Steffens for SMA

8.15    Welcome
8.30    BMZ Li-Ion battery technology
9.15    Victron ESS with Multiplus 2      
10.15  Breakfast break
10.45  SMA ESS with Sunny Island
11.45 End
 
SIGN UP until Friday 29.03. register online using this link. Or copy this into your browser http://www.123formbuilder.com/form-4718505/copy-of-competence-center-techtraining
For any questions please contact Alex on alexander.joist@ibc-solar.com  
Your IBC Solar Team,
Daniel, Helga, Tersia, Andrew and Alex

Capstone is requesting senior expert CVs for anticipated energy consultancy (contract-based) sector work in Anglophone and especially Francophone Africa.  Experts may be African nationals or International Experts.

Project work might include delivering strategic, policy, technical and operational improvements to existing power utilities, strengthening/training utility personnel and systems, improving planning and coordination processes, and improving the regulatory and business climate. It might also include extending the existing grid, improving reliability, reducing losses, and improving customer service in the energy sector. Further, it can involve improving the business climate to facilitate access to debt or equity finance with the ultimate goal of making energy services and products available to a greater percentage of the population.

Depending on the position, some personnel may be based in: Senegal, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone. We are looking for energy sector professionals who can be available potentially already during 2019.

Qualifications
Typically at least a Master’s degree in relevant technical field with at least 10 years of experience in their specific domain, including in Africa.
Experience on Donor funded projects (World Bank, AfDB, KfW, DfID, etc) is advantageous.
Francophone experts must also be able to be able to work reasonably well in English with Anglophone colleagues.

We are looking for experts in
Energy Sector Reform
Legal & Regulatory Reform of the Energy Sector Utility management: strategy, financial, operational, technical, IT
Capacity building, training, organizational development, talent management
IPPs and PPPs
Business Enabling Environment
Renewable Energy
Energy Financing
Power pools and cross-border energy exchanges
Downstream oil and gas regulatory and market-building
Energy access, inc mini-grids
Energy sector monitoring and evaluation, data & knowledge management
Generation, transmission, distribution engineering and management experts
Energy sector project management and especially programme management

Please send CVs with brief statement of introduction to CAPSTONE & COMPANY at the following email:  Africa@Capstone.ltd

Energy Minister Jeff Radebe signalled his willingness on Tuesday to use his legislative powers to facilitate the introduction of private electricity supply alternatives that could reduce the threat of load-shedding by Eskom in the short- to medium-term.

Addressing the DLO Africa Power Roundtable Conference in Johannesburg, Radebe said he would consider attaching a short-term action plan to the longer-term generation blueprint that would be provided by the updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which is currently under consideration by the social partners at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).   

Responding to a question posed by Webber Wentzel partner Pulane Tshabalala Kingston on the prospect of unlocking near-term supply alternatives Radebe said: “As the Minister of Energy, empowered by the Electricity Regulation Act, I will do the necessary to ensure that, where it is possible, we bring these alternatives on board.”

He revealed, too, that he had even approached the Independent Power Producer (IPP) Office to seek its guidance on removing obstacles to the development of projects bid in 2015 as part of the so-called ‘Expedited Bid Window’ of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.

Officially, the bid window had been cancelled and there was an expectation in the market that a new bid window, governed by new bid documents, would replace it. Potential participants have also indicated that the technical, financial and construction components of the bid would have to be revised in light of changes that had taken place since the projects were first bid.

However, Radebe appeared to open the door to the projects stating: “I have already spoken with the IPP Office, for example, about the expedited round and have asked then to remove any obstacles that still stand in the way so that we can move to closure of those projects.”

The Minister said that he would also consider signing deviation orders in instances where self-generation projects where being held up by red tape.

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