Isofoton signs MoU to supply solar pumping systems in Ghana
A €65 ($78 million) development loan from Spain to the government of Ghana contains €5 million ($6 million) for installing solar pumping systems in agricultural applications.

Technology-neutral electrification project in Mali offers chance for PV 
Mali's National Agency for Domestic Energy and Rural Electrification (AMADER) plans to launch two tenders for electrification concessions in the country's regions Segou and Mopti.

Solar Energy Uganda announces plans for module factory in Entebbe
Solar Energy Uganda Ltd. (SEU) plans to start a module factory in Uganda. According to Richard Kanyike, managing director of the Kampala-based system integrator, construction work for the 1 MW factory in the village of Manyago near Entebbe has recently started, and module production is expected to begin by 2007. 

Greenpeace report calls for more solar electricity in Israel 
A report published by Greenpeace and Israeli investment and consulting firm Eco-Energy Ltd. in June posits a plan for the large-scale introduction of solar energy in Israel – 2,000 MW central station solar thermal and 500 MW PV installed over 20 years – and estimates total direct and indirect benefits of between $1.8 and $2.7 billion through 2025.

Israeli TiO₂ start up raises funds but silent on licensing deal
Dye-sensitized titanium-dioxide (TiO₂) solar cell start up Orionsolar Ltd. reported second-round financing of $750,000 in mid-May through the New York investment group 21 Ventures LLC. 

Apex BP Solar completes two shipments to Zambia equal 
to 260 kW 
After supplying 130 PV systems to Zambia in February for community-based organizations plus nine schools, the French-based PV supplier Apex BP Solar said it was preparing to deliver another 110 solar home systems (SHS) in March.

Saudi solar wafer company planning to start cell production 
A private company in Saudi Arabia is planning to start manufacturing multicrystalline solar cells by early 2005 and possibly begin production of its own modules at a factory it owns in Morocco. The Al-Afandi Solar Wafers and Cells Factory in Jeddah is in the process of commissioning a 1 MW cell production line. 

NAPS to ship PV systems to Uganda
Finland-headquartered solar integrator NAPS Systems OY won a subcontracting bid to supply 22 stand-alone PV systems, equal to 12 kW of capacity, to the Siemens Information and Communication Mobile Group. 

Report on micro-financing program for solar in Uganda »wrong«
A report that the Ugandan government is linking up with micro-finance institutions around the country to promote solar energy is completely wrong, says Wilson Wafula, principal energy officer at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD). 

Regional shows planned for Kenya as PV standards go unratified
In a move that could triple sales of solar home systems (SHS) to 60,000 annually, Solarnet, a Kenyan NGO for promoting PV and solar thermal in East Africa, is planning to hold ten regional meetings around the country over the next three years.

SolarPower starts marketing campaign for solar streetlights in Israel
The Israeli integrator SolarPower Ltd. has started a marketing campaign for solar streetlights in Israel. In December, the Tel-Mond-based company installed five streetlights with a total capacity of 600 W at a parking lot in Karmiel and is working on future projects, says SolarPower´s CEO Alon Tamari. 

PV for Nigeria
The government of Jigawa and the US non-profit organization Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) plan to spend 400 million NGN ($2.9 million) for providing PV systems to 30 or more Nigerian villages, according to a Nov. 5 article in the Nigerian newspaper Daily Trust.

Mozambique rural electrification program to have PV component
Most of the $79.5 million for a rural electrification program in Mozambique announced in a Nov. 5 press release from the African Development Fund (ADF) will be used for grid extension. According to a document from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the funding includes $4.4 million for the first phase of a PV project worth 300 kW by the end of 2007 in rural and semi-urban areas. If successful in stimulating a local solar market, then another 700 kW could be installed as part of a follow-up rural electrification program.

South African poverty tariff gets head 
start for off-grid ratepayers
A temporary poverty tariff for off-grid households in South Africa intended to buy down nearly 70 percent of the monthly fees on electricity generated by solar home systems (SHS) was approved by the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) at the end of January. Its introduction through five companies, each of which won exclusive five-year concessions in 1999 to install up to 50,000 fee-for-service SHS in different off-grid areas (see 5/2002, p. 10), was staggered through March. 

Confusion over start date for South African poverty tariff
While some reports indicate that a poverty tariff to help poor South Africans pay their electric bills, seen as essential to sales of solar home systems (SHS), has already started, others say it may not kick in until June or July.

Senegal's new rural electrification project will include PV

Once feasibility studies are finished, Senegal's Agency of Rural Electrification (ASER) plans to start a large-scale rural electrification project in nine concession areas by the end of 2003.

South African poverty tariff could be in place by April
A roadblock that had been causing delays in the full implementation of a South African program to install up to 300,000 solar home systems may have been removed. On Dec. 6, the treasury committee of President Thabo Mbeki's cabinet approved a long-awaited plan for subsidizing electricity costs to the poor.

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