Key takeaways from the Solar Africa 2023 expo – pv magazine International

Might 23, 2023 Cosmas Mwirigi

The annual premier photo voltaic power expo in Africa is held on the Kenyatta Worldwide Conference Middle (KICC) in Nairobi, the Capital of Kenya. It showcases new applied sciences within the use, storage, and use of photo voltaic power. The expo serves as a platform for East and Central Africa, attracting exhibitors from over 24 nations.

“We now have seen a major enhance in attendees, with a rise of 30%. This 12 months’s occasion has exhibitors from greater than 24 nations, a rise from 14 in 2018, in numerous classes equivalent to of batteries, inverters, and mountain energy technology programs,” mentioned Duncan Njage, Regional Director of Expogroup, which organized the occasion. “There have been greater than 4,000 guests this 12 months and greater than 75 exhibitors in numerous classes.”

Over 25,000 to 30,000 photo voltaic PV merchandise are bought yearly in Kenya. It attracted many firms to the occasion, particularly from China and India, together with Luminous Photo voltaic, Techfine, One-Inverter, Solis, Omnivoltaic, Snadi, and Photo voltaic X. Many exhibitors shared their views about of the area’s potential, saying now could be the best time to put money into Africa’s photo voltaic business.

One-Inverter gross sales supervisor Irene Lyu mentioned they’re pleased to attend Photo voltaic Africa 2023 and showcase their merchandise within the area. “We now have not but arrange a base on this area. Nevertheless, we’re open to working with business suppliers and bringing our options to clients. Our 10 kWh battery is a superb resolution, and we hope to cooperate of native suppliers within the area.

“I am pleased to be right here. We’re a battery, inverter, and UPS options firm. The occasion was nice, with many guests fascinated by photo voltaic power. Our objective now could be to cooperate with suppliers as a result of we is not going to set a regional base in the meanwhile,” mentioned Kyra Zhang, gross sales supervisor of Techfine.

“We’re delighted to take part within the Photo voltaic Africa exhibition and showcase our newest power options to potential clients and companions in Kenya. Our merchandise are designed to fulfill the power wants of people, households, and enterprise. Our options present a dependable and sustainable supply of energy, lowering reliance on conventional grid energy and contributing to a clear and inexperienced future,” mentioned Pleasure Wu, Head of EcoFlow in Latin America and the Asian Pacific.

Based on the Power and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), Kenya’s renewable power capability reached 3 GW in June final 12 months, with photo voltaic having a share of about 120 MW. Most of this comes from hydropower distributed by the nation’s utility KPLC. Nevertheless, the current drought has led to low water ranges and elevated electrical energy prices, making electrical energy costly, with a kWh unit costing Ksh 26 ($0.20).

Many initiatives are at the moment being developed within the province. In Kisumu, Ergon Solair Africa Restricted is creating a 48.25 MW plant in Kibos, anticipated to be commissioned in 2024 and endorsed by the Kenyan authorities. The Kenya Ports Authority plans to fee a ten MW solar energy plant on the Mombasa port as a part of its inexperienced power technique and to cut back electrical energy payments.

Kenya plans to spend $2.1 billion to energy off-grid areas via using renewable-powered mini-grids. This exhibits that the change to solar energy is inevitable, particularly with the excessive price of electrical energy from the nationwide grid. Kenya’s Rural Electrification Authority goals to put in 450 mini-grids as a part of the nation’s 2016-2021 Strategic Plan.