An independent private equity fund management Metier, through its most recent Sustainable Capital Fund, has made a substantial investment into Broadreach Energy, in support of C&I renewable energy projects across sub-Saharan Africa.
A survey by African Business has found that investors in Africa’s energy sector are worried about the fallout from Covid-19 but remain generally confident about the continent’s prospects.
In defining green projects, it may be worthwhile to include ‘negative lists’, in order to explicitly exclude investment in fossil fuels and other activities / sectors which are not climate friendly.
The appearance of low quality and under-performing panels appears to be rife in East and Central Africa.These panels are suspected of being sourced from China, Indonesia, India, Dubai, Taiwan, Thailand, South Africa, and Nigeria.
The results of the “Energy Access Industry Barometer” present a picture from 613 companies across 44 countries, that provide energy access through mini-grids, clean cooking solutions, household solar products and appliances.
Innovation in battery technology is essential to match demand growth and the shift in technical requirements. Predictions of 400,000 MWh of battery storage means that all battery technologies will play a role in contributing to a clean energy future.
It seems obvious that cleantech requires innovation — in technologies, products and business models. However, is innovation (making new things) as important as quality (taking existing things and making them better, simpler, easier to use and cheaper)?
A recent OECD report shows that even though official development finance from multilateral donors increased by 35% between 2012 and 2016, the funds were largely allocated to specific sectors and projects. A systemic effort is needed to better link energy and development efforts.
