Date & Time: 7 June 2023 at 2 pm CEST

Organizers: Efficiency for Access and GIZ

Description: A clean energy transition potentially ensures vast socio-economic benefits to countries across Africa, especially in sub-Saharan Africa thereby improving access to affordable energy, unlocking income generation opportunities locally and scaling up energy security to enhance the socio-economic standards.

One of the major challenges to tackle is waste (produce, milk, etc.) generated by the food and agri sectors due to lack of access to cold storage facilities. Farmers lose their livelihood after harvesting simply because they could not get the products sold in due time. A parallel topic to address here is also in the health sector where vaccines, medicines, blood products and other essential items that perish due to the unavailability of appropriate cooling storage facilities.

Introduction of sustainable cooling innovations driven by decentralised renewable energies (DRE) can be instrumental in dealing with the above-mentioned issues. African countries have an opportunity to replace fossil fuel technologies to a more sustainable, climate-friendly, and efficient energy strategy which adheres to the Paris Agreement and low-carbon growth. Access to such novel innovations can enable a clean energy transition by enabling development in the rural as well as urban communities of Africa.

The 9th webinar under the PWCET series seeks to discuss how the introduction of sustainable cooling innovations driven by DRE can be instrumental and highlight the best practices from the sector. The speakers’ interventions will be followed by a moderated panel discussion including interaction with the audience.

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Date: 30 March 2023

Organizer: International Renewable Energy Agency and Climate Policy Initiative

Description: The third edition of the biannual joint report Global Landscape of Renewable Energy Finance 2023 by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) analyses the latest renewable energy investment trends in the period 2013-2020. The report also discusses preliminary insights from 2021-2022. The key findings of the report will be presented in the webinar.

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Date: 4 May 2023

Organizer: AFSIA

Description: Productive Use of Energy (PUE) is a means of powering subsistence economies with clean energy sources such as solar to generate income and increase productivity across different sectors including agriculture, industry, commercial and services among others. PUE solutions such as solar fridges and solar irrigation have continuously proven to business owners the ability to make money in remote areas. While SHS, Mini-grid and PUE terms can be used interchangeably, solutions such as solar-powered refrigerators and irrigation systems facilitate remote business activities and generate revenue, whereas Solar Home Systems (SHS) or Mini-grids mainly provide electricity for households, hospitals and small businesses without any direct income generation.

PUE presents a unique opportunity to drive renewable energy consumption and promote economic growth, though its adoption remains low due to affordability challenges. Access to end-user finance is key to accelerate the adoption of PUE in Sub-Saharan Africa. It may take a few years for PUE products to become commercially attractive, but some of the products are already on the right path such as solar water pumps being considered the best acceleration option compared to solar lights and TVs for poverty reduction.

Considering the above, AFSIA has compiled a “Productive Use Catalog” to enlighten the comprehension of what is productive use of energy, its different applications, how beneficial it has been for many companies/end-users and what we could expect in the near future.

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Date & Time: 25 May 2023 at 1 pm CEST

Organizer: ATA Insights

Description: Energy storage is the key to secure resilience, reliability and dispatchability in the grid even when the energy mix is based on variable renewables. However, while there is a lot of awareness about batteries, thermal storage is still a largely unknown treasure to be distpachable – coming at third or less of the cost. In this webinar 5 thermal energy storage experts will talk about the experience with thermal storage in Spain, China and Morocco and the new R&D technology that will revolutionize storing energy with longer durations, better round trip efficiencies and more competitive costs.

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Date: 22 March 2023

Organizer: African Energy

Description: The solar home system market is showing signs of increasing maturity, with the largest companies raising more and more funds. Business models and supply chains are becoming more established and have proven resilient during the economic challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, and companies are increasingly diversifying to maximise sales to their existing customer base.

There has also been some push back. Consumer finance-based business models continue to attract controversy, with recent high profile critical press coverage of customers accruing high levels of debt.

Join African Energy for a roundtable discussion of  this fast-moving sector. Held under the Chatham House Rule, topics to be covered include:

• Trends in financing for solar home system companies, including emerging financial structures and local currency;
• Ensuring portfolio quality and safeguarding against indebtedness;
• Diversification into new areas;
• Market trends in policy regulation and global supply chain challenges.

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Date: 14 March 2023

Organizer: PV Magazine

Description: In this pv magazine Webinar, we will discuss potential traceability risks in the lithium-ion battery supply chain, explain how buyers of energy storage systems can take action on their responsible supply chain, and show the steps that parties can take to mitigate those risks and improve vendor accountability.

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Date: 12 April 2023

Organizer: LDES

Description: According to the African Economic Outlook 2022, over 600 million people or 43% of the total population have no access to electricity. The growth & economic development of the continent calls for universal access as well as a cost effective, reliable & stable supply of energy.

The annual installed solar capacity hit 949 MW in 2022 itself, a 14% y-o-y growth compared to 2021 making the cumulative capacity to 10.5 GW according to African Solar Industry Association (AFSIA). Africa is home to 60% of the world’s best solar resources, but just 1% of the global solar capacity installed, and intends to maximize the continent’s potential with ambitions to reach 510 GW by the end of 2030 (IEA).

Solar PV is already the cheapest sources in many parts of the continent & with its current economic attractiveness is gaining momentum and has the potential to be deployed in a rapid manner with increasing investments.

However, the challenges pertaining to intermittency, seasonal variability, balancing of grids need addressing & that is where energy storage can play an important role providing flexibility & reliability with a tremendous impact in enabling energy access.

Long Duration Energy storage can smooth out the delivery of the intermittent resources by storing excess energy when the sun is shining & delivering it both during night and off-season periods, as well as providing flexible, dispatchable power.

This workshop is designed to bring together associations, policymakers, developers, manufacturers and civil society organizations to discuss how solar and long duration energy storage can help Africa meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) of universal access to clean, modern, and affordable energy for the continent.

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Date: 21 February 2023

Organizer: African Energy

Description: It is still too early to say when or how green hydrogen (GH2) and green ammonia (GNH3) technologies will become bankable at scale. However dozens of projects are now under development across the African continent.

The imperative to find the cheapest and most reliable wind and solar resources – and the prospect of being able to export green energy from even the remotest and least developed parts of the continent has initiated a new scramble for Africa, with developers identifying key coastal sites up the west coast from South Africa to Morocco, and in Tunisia and Egypt.

This online roundtable will assess the progress, the challenges and the key emerging players.

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Date: 25 January 2023

Organizer: PV Magazine

Description: Battery storage for clean energy is one of the hottest topics in the energy industry, ranging from their use in grid-scale storage to C&I to residential, along with the automotive industry shifting entirely towards e-mobility. But batteries can be volatile in ways that the energy industry is still attempting to understand: in some cases, lithium-ion batteries may have shorter expected lifetimes than other energy system elements like solar modules, and safety is incredibly critical for battery fleets.

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Date & Time: 8 February 2023 at 3 pm CET

Organizer: GOGLA

Description: The webinar will emphasize dialogue, and a panel of key stakeholders including donors, the private sector, and the government, has been invited to engage in a generative discussion regarding how to best meet the needs of energy access in the refugee setting in Uganda. Using Mercy’s Corps project, Accessing Markets through Private Enterprises for Refugees’ Energy access (AMPERE) as a cornerstone, the webinar will begin with a presentation on the finer design details of their subsidy targeting energy solutions for refugees in Uganda. We then invite each of the other key panelists to briefly speak about how subsidies are integral to their energy access programs/projects targeting refugees in Uganda. This will be followed by a moderated discussion that will touch upon key challenges, learnings, questions, etc.

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Date & Time: 8 November 2022 at 10 am WET

Organizer: ATA Insights

Description: After years of energy shortages, the City of Cape Town is moving ahead with the procurement of up to 700 megawatts of new generation capacity from independent power producers; and from 2023, Cape Town will start procuring utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) too.

South Africa is in need of increased accessibility to high-quality, sustainable, and low-cost electricity. The country has been plagued by frequent load-shedding due to aging electricity infrastructure poor performing national coal powered plants, with electricity availability factor (EAF) generally below 75% causing supply constraints. Eskom says there is currently a power shortage of nearly 14,000 megawatts due to unplanned maintenance and has regularly introduced stage two and up to stage six load-shedding.

The City of Cape Town is undertaking a variety of initiatives in the medium to long-term to support energy security for economic growth.

Join this webinar to hear firsthand how the City of Cape Town plans to improve security of supply and mitigate intensifying load-shedding through their energy procurement programs:

• Get crucial information on Cape Town’s energy procurement program plans from the City’s officials themselves;
• Learn how the City plans to reduce the impact of load-sheddingby increasing the penetration of renewables with battery energy storage systems (BESS);
• Consider the opportunities for growth of solar and storage behind the meter and get an overview of the future developments that you should consider in your strategy.

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Date: 2 February 2023

Organizer: PV Magazine

Description: Join this pv magazine Webinar, in partnership with First Solar, to get informed of the latest developments, and what comprehensive supply chain due diligence looks like today.

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Date & Time: 10 November 2022 at 2 pm CET

Organizer: ATA Insights

Description: Energy storage solutions can drive down the lifetime electricity cost of solar assets and maximise revenues, especially now that robust tax incentives and credits have strengthened the business case of solar-plus-storage.

Project developers are increasingly hybridising solar PV projects with battery technology. Solar-plus-storage projects demonstrate that renewable energy can become a dispatchable asset, offering a flexible and reliable way of delivering clean energy without the high opex of nuclear and the high capex of fossil fuels.

With solar-plus-storage projects becoming commonplace globally, research organisation BloombergNEF (BNEF) forecasts that by 2030, 55% of energy storage builds will be paired with solar to provide energy shifting. As the market evolves, system design becomes an important consideration when developing and managing complex renewable projects while also generating value-based asset management.

Join this webinar and: 

• Learn why solar-plus-storage market is gaining ground and the financial models underpinning it;
• Understand the technical and revenue trade-offs of AC- vs. DC-coupled projects;
• Find out how smart energy management software for asset optimisation and efficiency also reduces environmental impacts.

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Date & Time: 27 October 2022 at 4 pm GMT

Organizer: PV Magazine

Description: Effectively procuring energy storage is a real challenge today. Automotive buyers are dominating demand for the lithium-ion market, and battery prices have started increasing for the first time. To make matters more challenging, not all battery manufacturers are equal – engaging new suppliers can carry additional commercial and technical risk. In this pv magazine Webinar they will offer a guide to navigating those risks as a buyer of energy storage systems.

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Date: 22 November 2022

Organizer: IRENA

Description: The IRENA Coalition for Action’s ‘Renewables in Agriculture’ Working Group is convening a virtual knowledge exchange on Scaling-Up Renewables for Agri-Food Systems: Opportunities and Challenges. The exchange aims to bring together the members of the Coalition, along with other experts and stakeholders, to showcase their experience and lessons with renewable energy solutions across agri-food chains from all regions. The platform will trigger dialogue among the private sector, research institutions, academia and financing institutions from the energy and agriculture sector to bridge knowledge gaps as well as potentially forge partnerships for future joint work. The outcomes of the session will also feed into the Working Paper of the Working Group on the topic.

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Date & Time: 27 October 2022 at 11 am CEST

Organizer: ATA Insights

Description: The solar market is becoming more and more competitive and innovative solutions are needed to reduce the LCOE and provide higher returns to developers and IPPs.

The use of string inverters, allows CAPEX to be reduced as monitoring cables are eliminated, thereby reducing OPEX and thus lowering LCOE. This is the reason why more and more utility plants around the world are being built with string technology.

In this webinar it will be discuss the key aspects to consider for the design of profitable PV plants and analyze the impact of string inverters to achieve the lowest LCOE for your project.

• Understand the monitoring and control solutions aimed at facilitating O&M tasks and complying with grid code requirements;
• Hear about the role of the remaining components of the PV plant such as transformer stations, data loggers and more;
• Learn the specific features of GoodWe inverters that are involved in the correct dimensioning of strings, cables, and protections.

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Date & Time: 27 October 2022 at 9 am GMT

Organizer: AFSIA

Description: Floating solar has always been a subject of curiosity and also a source of hope for countries and islands with limited land. This technology is evolving fast and research is being done to assess its potential in Africa. Finding an ideal location for water to meet the sun and create a strong source of energy without affecting the space are the promises of floating solar among others: higher energy yield, reduction of the evaporation of the water plant and improvement of water quality.

Floating solar photovoltaic technologies open new opportunities for scaling up solar generation capacity in Africa.

In this webinar we will address different aspects:

• What is the status of floating solar in Africa;
• Higher in cost than traditional PV installation, how is this difference absorbed;
• What are the different technics used in this sector;
• How can water reservoir can be used efficiently;
• Is floating solar adapted for every application;
• Is a new economy possible bellow the panel in this better quality water.

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Date & Time: 20 October 2022 at 10 am CEST

Organizer: ATA Insights

Description: In this webinar, it will be analyzed how RePower can contribute to the ambitious green transition in the African and European energy sector by developing a plug and play solution for system management and renewables storage in off-grid applications:

• Get key take-aways across the main markets in Africa; Mini-grid policy and regulatory environment;
• Consider the potential of the RePower project to provide access to electricity to 550.000 consumers by 2026 and 1.6 Million by 2030;
• Find out more about the social and economic benefits of minigrids while ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all;
• Understand how the implementation of new innovative solutions into existing products and systems can create new knowledge and evidence for policy making in favor of off-grid energy systems.

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Date: 20 September 2022

Organizer: IRENA

Description: The webinar will provide the stage for an interactive dialogue on how gender aspects are being integrated across the solar PV sector and what best practices can be replicated to ensure an energy transformation that is rapid, inclusive and leaves no one behind.

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Date: 20 September 2022

Organizer: African Energy

Description: Join African Energy for a roundtable discussion of the recent elections in Kenya and their implications for the energy sector.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government set out an ambitious reform agenda epitomised by the 2019 Energy Act and has made major advances in electrification. But he leaves a legacy of strained relations with the private sector and a critical utility in Kenya Power which still needs close attention. Implementation of the act remains slow.

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