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With a considerable energy deficit, Africa is on the path to become a fertile ground for solar projects. Last mile grid connectivity, grid outages, and an unreliable power supply add to the woes of the energy supply in many of the African nations. This paper touches upon the solar project implementation models and overview, opportunities and challenges that apply to C&I Solar sector in Africa.<\/p>\n
Africa\u2019s Commercial and Industrial (C&I) solar<\/strong> sector encompasses a wide variety of customer types, solar designs, and project sizes. Common customer types include businesses of different sizes \u2013 from large corporations to local small businesses \u2013 government offices, schools, and universities.<\/p>\n C&I solar projects can take the form of rooftop arrays on buildings or ground mounts, and can range widely in size from kilowatts to megawatts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text ul_item_indent=”20px” _builder_version=”4.9.0″ ul_text_align=”left”]<\/p>\n Energy is generated onsite from PV cells, which are locally installed. Captive solutions may be implemented and installed on any unutilized space including:<\/p>\n The captive solar model can be further segregated based on connectivity to the grid:<\/p>\n a. On-grid captive:<\/strong> On-grid captive solar refers to solar PV systems installed in parallel with the utility grid. Power may be drawn from the grid or fed to it from the captive unit at appropriate times. This solution typically reduces the pressure on state or regional governments to set up additional power plants to meet energy demands, which presents a potential upside.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.8″]<\/p>\n Figure <\/strong>1<\/strong>:<\/strong> Representative illustration of an on-grid system<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.synergyconsultingifa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/CI-Solar-Fig-1.png” title_text=”CI Solar Fig 1″ _builder_version=”4.4.8″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.4.8″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.4.8″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.0″]<\/p>\n b. Off-grid captive:<\/strong> Off-grid installations are standalone solutions through which solar PV systems act as the primary source of energy in conjunction with existing power sources. These existing sources act as secondary sources of energy, as required. This solution is economically beneficial for entities with their own internal grid, i.e. those who use Diesel Generators (DG) or other off-grid solutions for production of electricity near or at the site.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.8″]<\/p>\n Figure 2<\/strong>:<\/strong> Representative illustration of an off-grid system<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.synergyconsultingifa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/CI-Solar-Fig-2.png” title_text=”CI Solar Fig 2″ _builder_version=”4.4.8″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text ul_item_indent=”20px” _builder_version=”4.9.0″ ul_text_align=”left”]<\/p>\n In addition to contribution to the regional renewable energy growth, some of the key benefits of using captive solar solutions are:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.0″]<\/p>\n Utility scale refers to large scale, ground-mounted solar projects backed by respective governments, with the state utility company acting as the off-taker under a power purchase agreement (PPA). Project structures under PPAs usually address bankability concerns and attract private sector investments by using:<\/p>\n a.<\/strong> A non-recourse\/limited recourse financing structure; and The table below highlights the comparison of the two solar PV implementation models based on multiple parameters:<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.8″]<\/p>\n Table 1:<\/strong> Comparison of two solar PV installation models<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.0″ hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No additional space requirements<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Installed on unutilized rooftops\/carports or available ground<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.4.8″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.4.8″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.8″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text ul_item_indent=”20px” _builder_version=”4.9.0″ custom_margin=”||0px||false|false”]<\/p>\n Africa suffers from a considerable energy infrastructure gap, hallmarked by shortcomings in conventional power sector large-scale developments, centralized generation, and long-distance transmission infrastructure.<\/p>\n C&I-scale solar power projects have an opportunity to fill this gap:<\/p>\n Figure 3:<\/strong> Net Revenue per Unit (USD per kWh billed)<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.synergyconsultingifa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/CI-Solar-Fig-3.png” title_text=”CI Solar Fig 3″ show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.4.8″ width=”95%” width_tablet=”100%” width_phone=”” width_last_edited=”on|tablet”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.0″ custom_margin=”20px||||false|false”]<\/p>\n Source 1: Africa’s Pulse Report’18<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text ul_item_indent=”20px” _builder_version=”4.9.0″ hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n The C&I sector in Africa drives the bulk of generation-related economic activity and employment, more sustainably than any other market segment. It also faces numerous challenges including:<\/p>\n Table <\/strong>2<\/strong>:<\/strong> Share of population without access to electricity<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text ul_item_indent=”20px” _builder_version=”4.9.0″ hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ custom_margin=”-22px|||||”]<\/p>\nThe solar photovoltaic (PV) industry primarily uses two distinct implementation models globally.<\/h5>\n
1. Captive Solar:<\/strong><\/h5>\n
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2. Utility Scale Solar: <\/strong><\/h5>\n
b.<\/strong> Standardization of structure with country specific customizations to mitigate residual risks.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n S. No.<\/strong><\/td>\n Parameter<\/strong><\/td>\n Utility scale solar<\/strong><\/td>\n Captive solar<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1<\/td>\n Size<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Recent precedents exceed 50 MW<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Few hundred kilowatts up to a few megawatts<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2<\/td>\n Tariffs<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Highly competitive tariffs on account of economies of scale<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 May be higher than that of utility scale projects<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 3<\/td>\n Space requirements<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Installations require large amounts of unused lands<\/td>\n \n \n 4<\/td>\n Procurement process<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Generally competitive bid process is followed<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Competitive bid process or on a negotiated basis<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 5<\/td>\n Grid connection<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mandatory<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 May or may not be connected to the grid<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 6<\/td>\n Offtake entity<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mostly government owned utilities<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Producer of the energy or owner of the captive space<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 7<\/td>\n Ease of implementation<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Large amount of groundwork required<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Minor refurbishments<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 8<\/td>\n Time to implementation<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 12-18 months<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 6-9 months<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 9<\/td>\n Opportunity Pipeline<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Confined to developers with sufficient capital reserves, technical expertise<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Multiple development opportunities for all entities in the solar space<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 10<\/td>\n Financing Package<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Proven model; more amenable to financing<\/td>\n \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nascent stage<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Opportunities for a C&I Solar Market in Africa<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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C&I power demand: <\/strong><\/h3>\n
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