Going Solar In Kenya
I am well satisfied with our new solar power system. The solar revolution has been launched in Kenya and is quickly gaining “sunshine.”
Author: zarembka
Will South Africa Build Electric Vehicles?
Like Germany is to Europe, South Africa is the manufacturing powerhouse of sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, it has 8 automobile assembly plants. The companies are BMW, Ford, Isuzu, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Renault, Toyota, and Volkswagen. In 2018, South Africa produced 610,854 vehicles.
Africa’s Oil Curse, the Example of Nigeria
CleanTechnica has been running a number of articles on little noted negative aspects of gas/diesel vehicles. These include hundreds of US deaths annually from carbon monoxide poisoning, oil refinery explosions, 137 US oil spills last year, what to do with old oil tankers, and the 150 gas/diesel car fires daily in the US. A common concept in Africa that is not noticed in the United States or other parts of the world is what in Africa is called “Africa’s Oil Curse.”
Two New Coal Plants Cancelled In Botswana
While the battle against coal-generated electricity is progressing nicely in the United States, Europe, South Korea, and even to a certain extent Japan, China, and India, the coal companies in some of those countries continue to have their sights on building more coal plants in Africa. Therefore, it is good news to learn that two Japanese banks, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), have withdrawn their support to finance two new 150 MW coal plants in Botswana, MorupuleB V and VI. The two coal plants were to be built by the Japanese company, Marubeni, in a joint venture with the South Korean firm, Posco Energy.
Refilling Lake Chad With Water From The Congo River Using Solar Power
Decades ago, when I was in high school, I read Willy Ley’s book Engineer’s Dreams: Great Projects that Could Come True. I vividly remember one of these gigantic, pie-in-the-sky dream projects. If the Congo River were dammed at the right spot, a large lake would form. It would then overflow into a river feeding into Lake Chad. Lake Chad would fill up to its prehistoric level and would then overflow into an ancient river that once flowed through Algeria and Morocco into the Mediterranean Sea.
Kenya Slowly Warms to Solar As Two New Solar Projects Launch
In April 2014, Kenya connected its first solar project to its grid. This was done at Strathmore University in Nairobi. Even though it was very small at 600 kilowatts, it produced exciting headlines in the news. Why has Kenya been so slow with larger scale solar projects? It is not … [continued]
Mining Methane In Lake Kivu, Rwanda: An Unusual Source Of Renewable Energy
KivuWatt, a 34 MW power plant in Kibuye, Rwanda, was conceived to help reduce the risk of an overpressure gas outburst at Lake Kivu. The first-of-its-kind integrated methane gas extraction and production facility has since become a critical regional producer of power.
Hydropower In Africa: An Overview
Hydropower has great attractions for Africa. First like coal, nuclear, hydropower, and geothermal are base load power. Except for South Africa, which is highly dependent on coal and its two nuclear power plants, there are no other nuclear power plants in Africa and very few coal plants. So along with geothermal power in Kenya, hydropower is the main source of baseload power.
The Dance of Nuclear, Coal, & Renewables in South Africa
Regular CleanTechnica readers should know that Elon Musk was born in South Africa and only left for Canada when he finished high school. Does Tesla have a presence in his birth country? As far as I know, there is one Tesla employee who is promoting battery storage, which is sorely needed in a country with frequent blackouts. South Africa, as a former British colony, is a right-hand drive country and Musk has said that Tesla would open a store and begin sending Model3s there by the end of this year. There are many wealthy people in South Africa, and with Musk having “hero” status there, it ought to be a good market for Tesla cars, potentially the biggest in Africa.
Off-Grid Solar In Kenya
CleanTechnica has had numerous articles on companies and organizations that are supplying off-grid electricity to consumers in Africa. Since I live in western Kenya where many people I know have these systems, this article is to report on these developments from the Kenyan consumer’s point of view.
