Mark Meijer sur Twitter : "De opkomst van zonne-energie in Zuid-Afrika: #zonnepanelen #afrika... The-rise-of-solar-energy-in-sa-1.1909439# REUTERS File picture: Kai Pfaffenbach Johannesburg - Near a massive iron ore mine in the Northern Cape, almost 320 000 photovoltaic panels mounted to track the sun cover the rust-coloured earth. Spanish developer Acciona SA built the 94-megawatt Sishen solar project in about 16 months under some of the strongest sunshine in the country.
In South Africa, the fifth-biggest producer of coal, which is burned to generate most of the country’s electricity, solar and renewable power are gaining fast. The alternatives have attracted R193 billion ($15.5 billion) of investment since 2011, helping the government ease blackouts. Two coal-burning power plants first approved in 2007, now costing $17 billion, are over budget and more than seven years behind schedule.
South Africa’s experience shows how renewables are spreading across the developing world, opening new markets with a reputation for convenience and plunging costs. Solar solution Installations boom ‘Blessing’ Coal’s difficulty. Gered Gereedschap sur Twitter : "Gezocht: 20 ft containers (gratis) voor vervoer #gereedschap naar #Afrika #dtv RT = fijn... Sustainable Housing and Green Building News: Algeria Solicits Bids for Wind and Solar Plants. Finally poised to embrace renewable energy generation, little-known Algeria is accepting tender bids from solar and wind energy producers.
Along with Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, which are either in the process of or are planning to build solar plants in their home countries, Algeria supports the Desertec Foundation vision to line the Sahara with solar thermal plants. Once they are are online, part of the energy these plants generate will be evacuated to Europe via subsea cables on the Mediterranean sea floor. Each country has made commitments that make sense to them, but Algeria’s ambitions are perhaps the boldest of all. Algeria hopes to produce 650 MW by 2015 and – get this – 22,000MW within another 15 years.
At the end of last year, the national utility company Sonelgaz reached an agreement with the Desertec Foundation to supply a chunk of that energy to Europe. Luckily there is no shortage of solar potential in the North African country, according to IEEE: Pay-as-you-go solar power lights up rural Africa. A renewable energy scheme by the British based company, Eight19, is enabling remote households in rural Africa to generate their own electricity using pay-as-you-go solar technology. The unique electrification system works by capturing sunlight to charge a 2.5 watt battery during daylight hours.
Users can access the electricity their solar panel generates by entering a code into their IndiGo battery pack. The technology can generate enough energy to power two small rooms for seven hours. IndiGo schemes have been set up in rural communities in South Sudan, Kenya and Zambia. IndiGo aims to replace Kerosene oil lamps, which can can have harmful health and environmental impacts, as the main source of light for rural communities in Africa. Electrifying rural Africa Pay-as-you-go solar aims to bring affordable electricity to rural AfricaTechnology aims to replace harmful environmental products such as kerosene lampsService allows users to light their homes for as little as $1 a week.
Visualizing Famine in the Horn of Africa [Infographic] The Firefly: A Revolutionary – and Disruptive – Approach to Electrifying Africa. A recent piece in the New York Times on a $12 solar panel at the heart of an emerging micro-economy in rural parts of Africa caught my eye. The system, called the Firefly, comes with a panel, a four-watt LED lightbulb, and an outlet for a cell phone charger. It is far simpler – and far dinkier – than anything we might consider useful here in the U.S., but its potential in its markets – and beyond – is nothing short of transformational. Cell phones have revolutionized life around the globe, but in many rural parts of the developing world people have to travel to centralized locations that have electricity to recharge them – and thus maintain connection with the outside world, with markets, with family.
This is understandably inconvenient; one Kenyan woman profiled by the Times had to walk two miles to catch a three hour ride just to drop off her phone to be recharged and then had to repeat the journey three days later to pick it up when it was ready.
Nrc.nl - Economie - IMF: Afrika moet landbouw niet vergeten. Schone energie in Afrika met Oranje tintje, Bron: ANP - Engineer. Solar power from Saharan sun could provide Europe's electri. A tiny rectangle superimposed on the vast expanse of the Sahara captures the seductive appeal of the audacious plan to cut Europe's carbon emissions by harnessing the fierce power of the desert sun. Dwarfed by any of the north African nations, it represents an area slightly smaller than Wales but scientists claimed yesterday it could one day generate enough solar energy to supply all of Europe with clean electricity. Speaking at the Euroscience Open Forum in Barcelona, Arnulf Jaeger-Waldau of the European commission's Institute for Energy, said it would require the capture of just 0.3% of the light falling on the Sahara and Middle East deserts to meet all of Europe's energy needs.
The scientists are calling for the creation of a series of huge solar farms - producing electricity either through photovoltaic cells, or by concentrating the sun's heat to boil water and drive turbines - as part of a plan to share Europe's renewable energy resources across the continent. Loans | View Loan: Paul Mulinge Mwanza.