By 
Solar Power May Get Boost From Africa’s Biggest Oil Exporter
Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil exporter, may be about to turn sunward to generate more of its power. Senators in the capital of Abuja are debating allocation of $30 million to solar projects in this year’s budget, according to the Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria. They’re expected to provide funding for off-grid solar projects, photovoltaic manufacturing, and transmission upgrades, according to REAN Executive Secretary Godwin Aigbokhan. A decision is expected this month.
Solar power growth leaps by 50% worldwide thanks to US and China
The amount of solar power added worldwide soared by some 50% last year because of a sun rush in the US and China, new figures show. New solar photovoltaic capacity installed in 2016 reached more than 76 gigawatts, a dramatic increase on the 50GW installed the year before. China and the US led the surge, with both countries almost doubling the amount of solar they added in 2015, according to data compiled by Europe’s solar power trade body.
Electrek green energy brief: Oil stocks for solar?, Solar=grid stability in California, battery charging by light, more
Indiana’s energy utilities want state lawmakers to pass a law that critics say would muscle out smaller companies from the emerging solar energy market. Solar power provides only about 1 per cent of the country’s energy, but the industry is growing rapidly, with figures showing it employed 208,859 workers in 2015. That amounts to a 125 per cent increase since 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Would you buy electricity from your neighbour?
NOT everyone can install solar panels but a new project could offer others a chance to buy cheaper electricity from their neighbours. There are many people who can’t install solar panels because they are renters, live in apartment blocks, can’t afford the cost or because their homes are heavily shaded or in a bad position for solar. But Nexergy hopes to offer these people the opportunity to buy “green power” at a cheaper price than they can currently purchase this from electricity companies.
Comments