Mali: Akuo Energy Commissions 50 MWp Kita Solar Power PlantSource:www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana Gets 1000kW Floating Solar On Bui Dam Reservoir (Video)
Ghana has joined the few African countries that have installed solar system for electricity generation on a river.
South Africa was the first country in Africa to have installed solar on a river followed by Seychelles.
Tunisia and Ivory Coast have also signed agreement for the execution of floating solar project.
In Ghana, the 1000kilowatts (1MW) facility, which is on the Bui Dam reservoir in the Bono Region, was installed by Bui Power Authority’s engineers without the involvement of any expatriates.
Chief Executive Officer of BPA has told energynewsafrica.com that his outfit intends to scale it up to about 5MW.
The project forms part of BPA’s vision to diversify its energy sources.
Ghana’s Parliament recently passed the BPA (Amendment) Bill, 2020 to allow the Authority execute renewable energy projects.
The Authority has also been made to assume the role of Renewable Energy Authority following the passage of Renewable Energy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 until such a time when Renewable Energy Authority is established.
Ghana: Gov’t Repeals Feed-In-Tariff To Make Way For Competitive Bidding For Procurement Of RE Electricity
Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Energy in charge of Power, William Owuraku Aidoo says the decision by the Ministry to review all the thermal and Renewable Energy Power Purchasing Agreement signed under the immediate past NDC administration has paid off.
According to him, that bold decision taken by the Ministry has resulted in the reduction of Feed -in-Tariff for solar power plant from 18 U.S cent per kilowatt hour to below 10 U.S cent per kilowatt hour.
Other steps the Ministry took which saved the power sector, the Minister explained was placing moratorium on the signing of new Power Purchasing Agreement and a directive that procurement of all energy contracts by the Government of Ghana and state-owned entities be done through competitive bidding on Take-and-Pay basis.
“These interventions have helped sanitise the power sector. The result is what we are seeing today. Whereas state-owned generation companies, ie. VRA and BPA, having gone through competitive bidding have been able to bring down the cost of solar below 10 US cents per kilowatt hour. Previously, the IPPs sold this same solar power to the distribution utilities at a Feed-in-Tariff of above 18 US cents per kilowatt hour,” he explained.
Speaking at the commissioning of the first phase of the 250MWp solar park being executed by the Bui Power Authority (BPA), Owuraku Aidoo noted that the Ministry of Energy facilitated the expeditious amendment of the Renewable Energy Act 2011 to repeal the feed-in-tariff scheme to provide the legal backing for competitive procurement of power.
Ghana: VRA Seeks To Become Electric Vehicle Leaders In FutureThe Renewable Energy Amendment Act 2020 also encourages small-scale self-generation and net-metering from renewables. Furthermore, it mandates fossil fuel-based wholesale electricity suppliers, fossil fuel producers and other companies that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions to complement the global effort of climate change mitigation by investing in non-utility scale renewable energy technologies, particularly for off-grid electrification. According to the Minister, when all the 250MW solar capacity is completed, it would be the largest Hydro-Solar-Hybrid Power Generating Plant in Africa. He said the objective of the Hydro-Solar-Hybrid is to enable the Bui Generation Station operate solar during the day when the sun is shining and bring the hydro power on line when the solar irradiation is low especially during the night. He applauded the CEO and Board of the Bui Power Authority for finding innovative way of executing this project without loans, as well as constructing the first-ever Floating Solar PV System of 1MW in the West African sub-region on the Bui reservoir in Ghana. “Looking at the successes that have been achieved within this short period, you will agree with me that the Bui Power Authority has distinguished itself as Ghana’s Renewable Energy leaders and this cannot go unrecognised. Consequently, Parliament, on 6th November, 2020, amended the Bui Power Authority Act and expanded its scope beyond the Black Volta to implement renewable and other clean energy alternatives nationwide,” the Deputy Minister said.
Ghana: Energy Minister, ECG Donate PPE To Health Facilities In Hohoe
The Hohoe Municipal Hospital and Gbi–Kodzofe CHIPS compound in the Volta Region of the Republic of Ghana has been supplied with personal protective equipment (PPE).
The two facilities received 400 pieces of overall suits, 200 pieces of disposable shoe covers, 200 pieces of protective gowns, 50 boxes of protective goggles, 1000 boxes of face shield, 160 boxes of surgical nose mask, 40 boxes of face nask and 35 gallons of sanitizers.
The items were supplied by Ghana’s Minister for Energy, John Peter-Amewu, who is also the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Hohoe Constituency and Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
According to Mr. John Peter Amewu, the Directors of both facilities approached him during one of his visits and spoke about shortage of PPE for health professionals and, therefore, appealed to the Electricity Company of Ghana to help the two facilities.
“ECG, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, had sponsored a 60-bed capacity Infectious Disease Centre which was commissioned by the Chief of Staff on Tuesday, 24th November, 2020, to help in the fight against Covid-19, so I approached the Board and Management of ECG to assist the health facilities in my constituency and they heeded to this appeal,” he said.
John Peter Amewu expressed his profound gratitude to the Electricity Company of Ghana for sponsoring an infectious disease center at Pantang and assisting the health facilities in his constituency with PPE to help in the fight against Covid-19 as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility.
He urged other institutions to emulate this gesture by the ECG to help the country win the fight against Covid-19.
John Peter Amewu announced that the road from Hohoe to the Gbi-Kodzofe CHIPS compound has been awarded to a contractor and would be completed very soon.
The Minister for Energy also donated one motorbike to the CHIPS compound to aid the operations of the staff, following a request by residents of the area.
The Managing Director of ECG, Kwame Agyemang-Budu indicated that the donation would not be the last by the company.
He commended all frontline officers for their exceptional professionalism exhibited in handling the Covid-19 pandemic and urged health professionals to use the PPE being provided for them.
Mr Budu acknowledged the immense contribution of the Minister for Energy to the energy sector and the strides ECG has made under the leadership of John Peter Amewu. According to him, the country has enjoyed stable power supply and improved voltage profile with Mr. Amewu at the helm of affairs in the energy sector.
He added that “the Government of Ghana, with Mr John Peter Amewu, as the Minister for Energy, has paid all arrears owed ECG and supported the company with over US$100 million to undertake massive system improvement projects. These interventions by the Government of Ghana will help the company to provide quality, reliable and safe electricity services to support the economic growth and development of Ghana.”
He commended the Minister for Energy and the Government of Ghana for providing relief packages for the customers of ECG during these difficult times.
“I would like to commend Hon. John Peter Amewu and the Government of Ghana, led by His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for absorbing the bills of all lifeline customers and paying half of the bills of non-lifeline customers,” he said.
Dr. Pius Mensah, the Director of the Hohoe Municipal Hospital, acknowledged the immense contribution of Mr. John Peter Amewu and thanked him for his unflinching support to the health directorate of the Volta Region and the Hohoe Municipality.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
“ECG, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, had sponsored a 60-bed capacity Infectious Disease Centre which was commissioned by the Chief of Staff on Tuesday, 24th November, 2020, to help in the fight against Covid-19, so I approached the Board and Management of ECG to assist the health facilities in my constituency and they heeded to this appeal,” he said.
John Peter Amewu expressed his profound gratitude to the Electricity Company of Ghana for sponsoring an infectious disease center at Pantang and assisting the health facilities in his constituency with PPE to help in the fight against Covid-19 as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility.
He urged other institutions to emulate this gesture by the ECG to help the country win the fight against Covid-19.
John Peter Amewu announced that the road from Hohoe to the Gbi-Kodzofe CHIPS compound has been awarded to a contractor and would be completed very soon.
The Minister for Energy also donated one motorbike to the CHIPS compound to aid the operations of the staff, following a request by residents of the area.
The Managing Director of ECG, Kwame Agyemang-Budu indicated that the donation would not be the last by the company.
He commended all frontline officers for their exceptional professionalism exhibited in handling the Covid-19 pandemic and urged health professionals to use the PPE being provided for them.
Mr Budu acknowledged the immense contribution of the Minister for Energy to the energy sector and the strides ECG has made under the leadership of John Peter Amewu. According to him, the country has enjoyed stable power supply and improved voltage profile with Mr. Amewu at the helm of affairs in the energy sector.
He added that “the Government of Ghana, with Mr John Peter Amewu, as the Minister for Energy, has paid all arrears owed ECG and supported the company with over US$100 million to undertake massive system improvement projects. These interventions by the Government of Ghana will help the company to provide quality, reliable and safe electricity services to support the economic growth and development of Ghana.”
He commended the Minister for Energy and the Government of Ghana for providing relief packages for the customers of ECG during these difficult times.
“I would like to commend Hon. John Peter Amewu and the Government of Ghana, led by His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for absorbing the bills of all lifeline customers and paying half of the bills of non-lifeline customers,” he said.
Dr. Pius Mensah, the Director of the Hohoe Municipal Hospital, acknowledged the immense contribution of Mr. John Peter Amewu and thanked him for his unflinching support to the health directorate of the Volta Region and the Hohoe Municipality.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Another Oil Major Is Betting Big On Renewables
Spain’s oil major Repsol plans to reduce its oil business operations and increase five times its renewable energy portfolio by 2030 as part of its latest strategic plan unveiled on Thursday.
Repsol was the first oil major anywhere in the world to announce late last year a target to become a net-zero emissions company by 2050.
This was back in December 2019 and before the COVID-19 pandemic slashed demand for oil and fuels in 2020.
This year, Repsol was followed by all major oil firms based in Europe, including BP, Shell, Total, Eni, and Equinor, all of which pledged net-zero targets by 2050 or sooner and said they would invest much more in renewable energy, transport electrification, and hydrogen.
In today’s plan, Repsol said that it aims to become a global renewables operator with a generation capacity of 7.5 gigawatts (GW) by 2025 and 15 GW by 2030. This compares to a capacity of slightly below 3 GW today.
Repsol’s upstream business will be reduced to 14 countries, with a more efficient and focused exploration activity and an average total production of 650,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The Spanish group is also betting big on renewable hydrogen and sustainable biofuels to achieve additional decarbonization.
“Repsol has the ambition to be a leader in renewable hydrogen in the Iberian Peninsula by reaching a production of the equivalent of 400 MW by 2025 and with the ambition of exceeding 1.2 GW in 2030,” the company said.
The new strategy is self-financing at an average price of $50 per barrel Brent and $2.50 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) at the Henry Hub. At these prices, Repsol can generate cash to cover investments and dividends throughout 2030, without increasing debt from current levels, the company said.
Source:Oilprice.com
IES Analysis: Ghana’s Power Transmission Losses Surging
Power transmission losses within the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) system keeps surging to 2013 highs and possibly beyond, far in excess of the allowable loss margin. Review of the “Electricity Supply Plans” from Ghana’s Energy Commission (EC) and data from the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) indicate that since 2008, the rate of transmission losses from total generated power keeps rising― largely due to the inefficiencies in the transmission system.
This transmission challenge for electricity have proven to contribute to the key factors that stalls the progress of the power sector and the economy as a whole. The indices of economic growth in many cases rely on the ability to continually enjoy sustained and efficient electricity power supply.
Transmission loss measure the power lost in the transmission of high voltage electricity from power generators to medium voltage power distributors (trading economics). This in simple terms means that, transmission losses are calculated as a percentage of the gross electricity production for the entire period under review.
The losses in any transmission system are mainly in response to technical inefficiencies. It has been identified that the technical losses in Ghana’s power sector result mainly from the continued use of obsolete and faulty equipment that include switchgears, transformers, transmission lines, among many others. It is instructive to note that until date, some equipment and parts used for the transmission of power in Ghana date as far back as the 1960s― clear recipe for losses in power transmission for the sector.
Review of state documents identified that “with the Aboadze (West) enclave being the biggest generation enclave with an installed capacity of approximately 1540MW, transmission system losses are always higher than the benchmark because maximized power generation is wheeled to as far as Brong-Ahafo region, from the West enclave.
Aside longer transmission lines, the transmission loss increases was found to be driven by the old 161kV transmission lines in the West, and the limitation on the heavily loaded 161kV Volta – Achimota corridor that supplies power to the Capital and its environs. The over-loading of the 330/161kV autotransformers within Tema, congestion on the 161kV Anwomaso – Kumasi transmission line linking the 330/161kV infrastructure, the unavailability of the 40MVar STATCOM at Tamale etc. were equally identified as contributing factors.
Ghana’s benchmark transmission loss of power in percentage terms to the gross electricity production allowed by the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) is 3.5 per cent in gigawatts hour (GWh). The 3.5 per cent explains that all losses recorded in a production year that falls beyond the 3.5 per cent benchmark deteriorates the amount of power produced for transmission, thus becoming cost to the State transmission agency, GRIDCo. This cost is owed to the production agencies in Ghana, including the Volta River Authority (VRA) and other Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
The country’s best performance in managing losses within the grid were recorded over a decade ago, when the transmission losses recorded was 3.5 per cent for both year 2007 and 2008. These results fell right in line with the transmission loss benchmark of the country, and did not come at a cost to the country’s power transmission agency, GRIDCo.
However, since the year 2009, the percentage transmission loss in Ghana’s power sector has risen beyond the allowable of 3.5 percent. In 2009 for instance, the country lost approximately 343 GWh of electricity transmitted, representing a 3.8 per cent of total 8,958 GWh transmitted.
In 2010, 2011 and 2012, Ghana recorded transmission loss of 380 GWh, 531 GWh, and 522 GWh respectively, representing 3.7 per cent, 4.7 per cent, and 4.3 per cent of total annual power transmitted.
The trend shows upward, as the only year that transmission losses came close to the PURC benchmark was 2015. Aside that, the country has been recording losses of 4.4 percent on average terms. After dipping to 4.1 per cent in 2017 from 4.4 per cent in 2016, the country’s power transmission losses is seeing yet another sharp rise, recording a loss of 4.7 per cent in 2019.
In absolute numbers, the amount of power lost to transmission has seen an incremental rise over the last decade. In 2019 for instance, the amount of electricity loss was recorded as 844 GWh, a growth of 16.2 per cent over 2018 losses, and 30.5 percent over year 2017 loss figure.
The only year that experienced a dip in losses was year 2015, when the total electricity made available for gross transmission was only 11,692 GWh, as against 13,071 GWh in 2014 and 12,927 GWh in 2013; i.e. 1,379 GWh (about 12%) less than in 2014 and 1,235 GWh (approximately 11%) less in 2013.
Cumulatively, over the last decade, the amount of power lost to transmission is in excess of 5700 GWh, of the approximate 133,156 GWh transmitted within the period. The 5,700 GWh of power lost over the 10-year period is equivalent to one-third of the total power transmitted for consumption in 2019.
It is important to note that the growing debt owed the company by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Distribution Company (NEDCo) hampers the ability of GRIDCo to provide for themselves modern equipment and infrastructures needed to increase efficiency in outputs.
Though technically impossible to completely rid the transmission grid of losses, the provision of the needed investment in the sector would go a long way in beefing-up the system efficiency, and ensuring value-for-money (VFM). The focus must be on attaining either the 3.5 per cent benchmark set by the PURC or anything below.
By: Fritz Moses
Research Analyst, IES
In 2010, 2011 and 2012, Ghana recorded transmission loss of 380 GWh, 531 GWh, and 522 GWh respectively, representing 3.7 per cent, 4.7 per cent, and 4.3 per cent of total annual power transmitted.
The trend shows upward, as the only year that transmission losses came close to the PURC benchmark was 2015. Aside that, the country has been recording losses of 4.4 percent on average terms. After dipping to 4.1 per cent in 2017 from 4.4 per cent in 2016, the country’s power transmission losses is seeing yet another sharp rise, recording a loss of 4.7 per cent in 2019.
In absolute numbers, the amount of power lost to transmission has seen an incremental rise over the last decade. In 2019 for instance, the amount of electricity loss was recorded as 844 GWh, a growth of 16.2 per cent over 2018 losses, and 30.5 percent over year 2017 loss figure.
The only year that experienced a dip in losses was year 2015, when the total electricity made available for gross transmission was only 11,692 GWh, as against 13,071 GWh in 2014 and 12,927 GWh in 2013; i.e. 1,379 GWh (about 12%) less than in 2014 and 1,235 GWh (approximately 11%) less in 2013.
Cumulatively, over the last decade, the amount of power lost to transmission is in excess of 5700 GWh, of the approximate 133,156 GWh transmitted within the period. The 5,700 GWh of power lost over the 10-year period is equivalent to one-third of the total power transmitted for consumption in 2019.
It is important to note that the growing debt owed the company by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Distribution Company (NEDCo) hampers the ability of GRIDCo to provide for themselves modern equipment and infrastructures needed to increase efficiency in outputs.
Though technically impossible to completely rid the transmission grid of losses, the provision of the needed investment in the sector would go a long way in beefing-up the system efficiency, and ensuring value-for-money (VFM). The focus must be on attaining either the 3.5 per cent benchmark set by the PURC or anything below.
By: Fritz Moses
Research Analyst, IES
South Africa: Eskom CEO’s Push For Cost-Reflective Tariffs Welcomed At Digital African Utility Week
South Africa’s power utility company, Eskom, is moving toward cost reflective tariffs instead of leaning on tax payers to subsidise the state utility, CEO Andre de Ruyter has said.
Delivering a keynote speech at Digital Africa Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa, De Ruyter highlighted five core focus areas in his Eskom turnaround strategy.
One focus area was addressing Eskom’s income statement and pushing for cost reflective tariffs.
“So we need to continue pressurising our regulator for cost reflective tariffs,” De Ruyter told delegates. “We are of the view that it’s inappropriate for the taxpayer to subsidise the activity user. We subscribe to the user pays principle and therefore the tariffs have to be reflective of our reasonable costs. We’re not asking for a subsidy for our own inefficiencies, but only reasonable benchmark costs.”
Moderating the conversation, financial journalist Fifi Peters, added: “Definitely, the taxpayer in South Africa is quite tired of having to foot the bill for mismanagement and maladministration…”
Going in the right direction
Speaker Simon Hodson, CEO of development and investment platform Gridworks Partners, which is supported by the United Kingdom government, agreed that a shift to cost reflective tariffs is key to sustainability and investability.
“It feels like Eskom is going in the right direction,” said Hodson. “And it’s important to see that the business is being segmented into its component parts (generation, transmission and distribution). But probably most important is to see the pathway to sustainability; the reference towards cost reflective tariffs is so central to what needs to happen in the sector. This pathway to sustainability is very important because a pathway to sustainability is a pathway to investability, it makes the whole silo of activities in this space investible.”
Digital Africa Utility Week: New E-Guide That Predicts Electrical Consumption DevelopedEskom tariffs: Key priority From the private sector, Lisa Pinsley, Head of Africa, Energy Infrastructure, at leading investment firm Actis, said De Ruyter’s speech was music to her ears. She agreed that low tariffs was a key priority. “As a large private equity investor in South Africa and Africa in general, I really welcome [De Ruyter’s] plans and priorities that he discussed in his interview,” said Pinsley. “It’s music to my ears, and I look forward to the implementation.” To date Actis has invested around $2 billion and intends to bid for South Africa’s Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP), under which government aims to procure some 2000 MW of dispatchable generation capacity for operation by mid-2022. “I also have a huge amount of respect for the IPP (Independent Power Producer) office, which [De Ruyter] mentions and their ability to procure cheap power for the country,” said Pinsley. “It really is the best in the world. South Africa is one of our favorite markets. At Actis we’ve invested in 12 of the REI PPP (Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement) projects to date with total project costs at about $2 billion. So we’re one of the big players and really look forward to doing more.” Other speakers included Clinton Carter-Brown, Energy Centre Head at South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR); and Abel Didier Tella, Director General of the Association of Power Utilities of Africa (APUA).
Ghana: TDCL Seeks President Akufo-Addo’s Intervention In Resolving TOR Crisis
The Tema District Council of Labour (TDCL) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the Republic of Ghana has petitioned President Nana Akufo-Addo, on behalf of the staff of Tema Oil Refinery, to intervene to address some pressing issues which are affecting the profitability of the state refinery.
According to a statement issued and signed by Dotse Kojo Gadabor, Chairman of TDCL, the council held a meeting on Wednesday and took notice of some disturbing development at the Tema Oil Refinery and petitioned the President accordingly.
Workers of the Tema Oil Refinery had been up in arms with the leadership of the West African nation’s only refinery over poor management of the refinery.
They called out loud by describing the Board members of the refinery as incompetent and demanded their immediate dissolution.
They stated that the incompetent leadership being exhibited by the Board has worsened the plight of the workers as their pension trust fund had been in arrears.
The description of the Board as incompetent did not sit well with the management who responded, insisting that the board had demonstrated competence by ensuring that some legacy debts were cleared as well as.
However, a statement issued by TDCL and copied to energynewsafrica.com said: “We, as a Council, would like to call on the office of the President and all stakeholders who have a role to play in addressing the challenges to, as a matter of urgency, give it a needed attention so we can arrive at a lasting solution.
Ghana: A Look At Factors Driving Petroleum Refinery Profitability (Article)“We also wish to state that failure or undue delay in resolving this matter, the leadership of the council will be compelled to do the needful in calling for all workers in the region to solidarise with our members at TOR,” the statement said. “We are well aware of one of the core objectives of the Trades Union Congress and responsibility on our leadership that Touch One; Touch All,” the statement concluded.
Ghana’s Biggest Utility Scale Solar Power Plant To Be Commissioned Friday
Ghana will be commissioning its biggest utility scale solar power park in the Bono Region on Friday, November 27, 2020.
The project is being executed by the West African nation’s second largest state power generation company, Bui Power Authority.
The 50MWp solar power park which, started in February 2020, is the first phase of 250MW solar power plant the Authority intended to construct.
The BPA targeted 10MWp out of the 50MWp for the piloting with the intension of adding on to get the 50MW.
However, energynewsafrica.com understands that the Authority has gone beyond the 10MWp to about 25MW as at Wednesday, November 25, 2020.
European Utility Giant To Invest $190 Billion In Renewable InfrastructureEnergynewsafrica.com understands that the President of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo was expected to commission the project but due to his heavy schedule this week, he has asked the country’s Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo, to represent him. Upon commissioning, the facility would be the biggest utility scale solar plant in the country and the West African sub-region. With the recent commissioning of the VRA’s 6.54MWp solar park at Lawra in the Upper West Region and Bui’s 26MW solar park, Ghana’s total utility scale installed solar capacity now stands at 75MW. In terms of total renewable energy capacity (both hydro and solar) in the country’s energy mix, Ghana now boasts of about 1,659.14MW. This comprises Bui Generation Station 400MW + 4MW turbine, Akosombo Dam 1020MW, 160 Kpong Generating Station 160MW, Navrongo Solar Park 2.5MW, Lawra Solar Park 6.54MWp, BXC’s 20MW at Gomoa Onyaadze, Meinergy 20MW and Safisana 0.1MW at Ashaiman. Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Digital Africa Utility Week: New E-Guide That Predicts Electrical Consumption Developed
The demand-side revolution has begun. Aired by moderator Aaron Leopold, this was the key message at a fast-paced talk entitled “Building resilient incomes to ensure sustainable business models” on the second day of Digital Africa Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa on Wednesday.
Leopold is the CEO of the Africa Mini-grid Developers Association (AMDA), which represents the decentralised utility sector serving remote populations in Africa.
Speaker John Kidenda, software and analytics director at micro-grid developer PowerGen Renewable Energy, based in Nairobi, Kenya, said that trends are shifting and that funders need to engage with communities to better gauge demand.
“The volume of funding is increasing day by day,” said Kidenda. “Where you find a challenge though, is that oftentimes the funding is not as demand-driven as it needs to be. Businesses come with ideas about what they should be funding. They tell you: ‘Here’s $100,000 or $500,000 to build water pumps in these rural villages.’ And oftentimes, the conversation around whether that’s actually what is needed in these villages, and whether setting up a water business in this location is a viable business model to pursue, has not been fleshed out.”
Demand-side economics holds that economic growth and employment are best achieved through a high demand for products and services. Demand-side management entails actively influencing electricity demand on mini-grids so it matches electricity generation.
Kidenda continued: “So I think what I would say is, as the volume of financing increases, what needs to happen is a transformation in the nature of financing, so that it actually enables developers like ourselves to ask the questions of the communities that we’re serving. These questions will inform the kinds of appliances that will be financed, in a way that makes them accessible to these communities.”
New e-Guide tool
During the discussion, much interest was sparked around a new freely available tool that can help predict electrical consumption in areas presently without electricity, by looking at satellite imagery.
Developed by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in the United States, the Electricity Growth and Use in Developing Economies (e-GUIDE) is an API (application programming interface) used to measure estimates on residential consumption in Kenya, with Uganda and Rwanda soon to follow.
Lead researcher Jay Taneja explained: “What we’ve built is a tool that can essentially give some insight into what a new customer might consume in a place that does not currently have electricity supply. So how we built this, we actually worked very closely with a utility partner – Kenya Power – to look at previous consumption data. Then we trained a machine learning model, neural network, which is able to look at satellite imagery in those locations, where we have good data, and then transfer that knowledge to locations where we don’t necessarily have consumption data – but we do have satellite imagery.
“And so that satellite imagery is the link here that really allows us to understand in that new place, what is the likelihood of the number of high-consuming customers, lower-consuming customers? How might a system be designed in that new place?”
Essentially the e-GUIDE poses a solution for regulators and businesses, helping them to better understand how to roll out their systems.
“For more efficient investment of resources so they are not overbuilding in certain communities, and underbuilding in others,” said Taneja.
He added that as more data is fed into the machine, it becomes more accurate: “One of the great benefits of a machine learning model is that it gets increasingly better in a diverse array of situations. And so, as you train this model with more and more examples from more and more countries, you can apply the model with higher confidence.”
The researchers hope that by late 2021, the API will provide consumption estimates around Africa.
Speaking from Abuja, Nigeria, Ifeoma Malo, CEO of the Clean Technology Hub, was enthusiastic about the idea: “If there’s a way that we can collaborate with Jay and his group to sort of feed into that data, we would be very happy to do so,” she told the panelists.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Dubai: Metin Mitchell Reduces Carbon Emissions By 60 Percent (Video)
A Dubai-based energy company, Metin Mitchell, has reduced its carbon footprint emissions by 60 percent.
The company was able to achieve this feat by slashing travels and buying carbon credits from Green Energy Solutions & Sustainability, as well as Al Qusais Landfill project that is reducing the impact of Methane by over 315,000 tonnes per year.
Aker BP Deploys Robotic Dog On North Sea FPSO
Norwegian oil and gas company Aker BP and Cognite, an industrial AI software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, have partnered to deploy Spot, the quadruped robotic dog, to pioneer the remote-controlled offshore mission on the Skarv FPSO installation in the North Sea.
The effort continues to build upon Aker BP and Cognite’s digital agenda to transform the industry through digitalization.
The goal is to achieve improved efficiency, safety, and sustainability offshore, Aker BP explained in a statement on Tuesday.
Spot’s work offshore is the next step in his journey as he was issued his official employee number in February at the Aker BP Capital Markets Day.
In addition, Aker BP has a number of other projects involving drones and additional mobile robots to deliver on their vision of optimized remote operations using Cognite’s data-driven technology.
Cognite’s main software product, Cognite Data Fusion (CDF), served as the data infrastructure for the offshore test which collected images, scans, sensors from robotics systems and then shared the data across Aker BP via a dashboard to make it actionable.
Tasks included: autonomous inspection, high-quality data capture, and automatic report generation. These data insights provide onshore operators with telepresence on offshore installations allowing them complete real-time mission planning and help drive crucial activities.
The mobility of Spot offshore, and the communication between Spot, Cognite Data Fusion and Aker BP was both verified and tested.
Data from Spot was available and sorted in Cognite Data Fusion in milliseconds, and Spot was remote-controlled from a Cognite home office onshore demonstrating how robots and digital twins can have synergies and enhance each other.
In addition, data from an operator round was collected to analyze if the sensor-stack on Spot was sufficient to comply with the proposed task.
Karl Johnny Hersvik, CEO of Aker BP, said: “The Spot’s offshore visit at Skarv FPSO is one small step towards Aker BP’s vision to digitalize all our operations from cradle to grave in order to increase productivity, enhance quality and improve the safety of our employees”.
“We can use missions like these to advance Spot’s capabilities and Cognite continues to lead the way in testing and validating Spot’s ability to reduce risk to humans and provide value in the energy industry”, said Michael Perry, Vice President of Business Development at Boston Dynamics.
Dr. John Markus Lervik, CEO of Cognite, said: “This historic pairing of minds and machines working together to solve industry problems demonstrates that data-driven decisions can change industry now”.
Source: www.offshoreenergytoday.com
South Africa: Eskom Sacks 2000 Workers In Ten Months
South Africa’s power utility company, Eskom, has retrenched about 2000 of its workforce in the past ten months.
The move is part of drastic measures being introduced to turn around the debt-ridden state of the power utility company.
André de Ruyter, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Eskom, made this know when he delivered a keynote speech at the Digital African Utility Week and PowerGen on Tuesday, November 24, 2020.
“We have, over the past 10 months, said goodbye to 2000 employees,” said De Ruyter “so we are making some progress. There’s more to come. And that’s, of course, without resorting to forced retrenchments.”
South Africa: Eskom Urges Electricity Consumers To Reduce Power Usage As System Failure BitesDe Ruyter, who was appointed CEO of Eskom barely ten months ago, also hinted that among other measures introduced to make sure Eskom recovers from decay is that the company’s management would not receive salary increases or bonuses this year. “Very important is to address the legacy of capture and corruption and turning around the morale of our people,” said De Ruyter. “You can imagine that morale is low, people are feeling quite despondent. We have taken a decision not to give any increases to management this year. Also, in order to contain our costs, there will be no bonuses.” Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
European Utility Giant To Invest $190 Billion In Renewable Infrastructure
Italy’s Enel Green Power plans to invest as much as US$190 billion (160 billion euro) by 2030 in boosting renewable power generation, decarbonization, and grid infrastructure as part of a new plan to become a “Super Major” in renewables, Europe’s largest utility said on Tuesday.
Enel also plans to catalyze investments of US$35.5 billion (30 billion euro) from third parties in its plan to accelerate the energy transition.
Of all planned investments, Enel will invest US$83 billion (70 billion euro) in renewables, expecting its total installed capacity in renewables to reach 120 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.
This would be 2.7 times higher than its currently installed renewable capacity of around 45 GW.
The utility also targets to reach an 80-percent reduction in direct carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions versus 2017.
“With this new Strategic Plan we are setting a direction for the next 10 years, mobilizing 190 billion euros in investments to pursue our goals in a decade full of opportunities,” Francesco Starace, CEO and General Manager of Enel, said in a statement.
Enel’s share jumped by more than 3 percent in Milan on Tuesday afternoon after the plan was presented.
Enel Green Power, a unit of Enel, operates in the U.S., where it is present in 18 states with wind, solar, and geothermal plants with a combined installed capacity of 5.7 GW.
Enel Green Power’s biggest renewables operations in the United States are in wind power, with more than 5.5 GW of installed capacity as of the middle of 2020.
The Italian company is the latest utility pledging significantly increased investments in renewables.
Most recently, Spain’s Iberdrola said it would invest US$89 billion (75 billion), with more than half of the investment increase, or 51 percent, going to renewables and 40 percent to networks.
This is the largest investment program of a Spanish company in history, the firm said earlier this month.
Source:Oilprice.com
Nigeria: Explosions Rock Shell, Agip Facilities In Bayelsa
Explosions have damaged oil and gas facilities belonging to the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria and the Nigerian Agip Oil Company around Ikarama in the Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
According to report, the blasts may have resulted from attacks on the oil facilities by unknown persons on Monday.
A youth leader in the community, Ben Warder, said residents heard loud sounds from the affected oilfields and were very afraid to go near the impacted area.
“The site is not far from Ikarama. We heard sounds from the blasts and it sounded like dynamites.
“It was not safe to go near, so when the situation became quiet we had to trace what happened and it turned out that Shell’s gas pipeline and Agip’s crude lines were destroyed.
Biden’s Energy Transition Policy Likely To Crash Oil Production In Sub-Saharan Africa-Agunbiade“The incident resulted in air pollution from the gas pipeline and crude leak which members of the affected communities are battling to cope with,” he said. A spokesperson for the SPDC, Michael Adande, confirmed the incident, saying the impacted facility had been shut down to curtail further damage. He said, “We have a report of an interference on our pipeline about 1 kilometre from Ikarama community in Bayelsa State. “We immediately shut-in the line and we have informed the relevant regulatory government agencies and stakeholders. “A government-led joint investigation team will determine the cause of the interference.”