A New Book On Solar Energy In Africa and the Middle East

I have not posted on this blog web site for a while because my writing efforts were diverted to helping create a new book entitled ‘The Sun Is Rising In Africa and the Middle East: On the Road to a Solar Energy Future”. The book went to the printer earlier this week and should be available in printed form shortly. A digital version is also in the works. The book has three authors and three additional contributors, each bringing a rich perspective and set of experiences to the discussion. To whet your appetitites I include below the first few pages of the manuscript, including the Table of Contents. More information coming when the book is actually available for sale.
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THE SUN IS RISING
IN AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
On the Road to a Solar Energy Future

Peter F. Varadi | Frank Wouters | Allan R. Hoffman
Contributors
Wolfgang Palz
Anil Cabraal
Richenda Van Leeuwen

Contents

Preface​xi
Introduction​1
1.​Solar Energy in Africa and in the Middle East​3
1.1​An Overview of Energy Production and
Consumption in Africa and the Middle East​4
1.1.1​Africa​4
1.1.2​The Middle East​9
1.2​The Role of Solar Energy in Africa and in the
Middle East​13
2.​Solar Technologies for Electricity Generation​19
2.1​Solar Energy to Electricity: Solar cells​20
2.1.1​PV Modules Made of Solar Cells Created on
Si Wafers​24
2.1.2​Thin-Film PV Modules​27
2.1.3​Utilization of Various PV Production
Technologies​28
2.1.4​Solar PV Systems​28
2.2​Concentrating Thermal Solar Power Systems​31
2.3​Hybrid Solar Systems​35
3.​Electric Grid Issues in Africa and the Middle East​39
3.1​Introduction​40
3.2​Mini-grids​41
3.2.1​Devergy​42
3.2.2​Donor Support for Mini-Grids​43
3.2.3​Central vs. Individual Uses​43
3.3​Regional Power Pools in Africa​46
3.4​Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority​50
3.4.1​Middle East​50
3.4.2​GCCIA​50
3.4.3​GCCIA and Renewable Energy​52
4.​Regional and International Solar Initiatives​55
4.1​Introduction​56
4.2​Introduction to the European Development Aid:
A Personal Recollection​57
Wolfgang Palz
4.3​U.S. Energy Development Assistance to Africa and
the Middle East​63
4.3.1​Africa​63
4.3.2​Middle East​66
4.4​Lighting Africa: Evolution of World Bank Support
for Solar in Africa​68
Anil Cabraal
4.4.1​In the Beginning​68
4.4.2​Evolution​71
4.4.3​Solar PV in Africa​74
4.4.4​Lighting Africa​78
4.4.5​The Lighting Africa Program​80
4.4.6​Elements of Lighting Africa Program​81
4.4.7​Lessons Learned​84
4.4.8​The Future​86
4.4.9​Paris Climate Agreement (2015)​87
4.4.10 Climate Change Action Plan 2016-2020​88
4.4.11 IFC Scaling Solar​90
4.4.12 World Bank Off-grid Solar Projects​91
4.5​The Africa Clean Energy Corridor​93
4.5.1​The Issue at Hand​96
4.5.2​Planning​97
4.5.3​Resource Assessment​98
4.5.4​Access to Finance​99
4.5.5​Status and Way Forward​99
4.6​Global Energy Transfer Feed-in Tariff​102
4.6.1​Hydropower Projects​107
4.6.2​Cogeneration (Biomass: Bagasse from
Sugar Production)​108
4.6.3​Solar PV Projects​109
4.6.3.1​Soroti solar PV project​109
4.6.3.2​Tororo solar PV project​110
4.6.4​Wind Energy Projects​111
4.6.5​Conclusion​111
4.6.6​The Future of the GET FiT Program​112
4.6.6.1​Zambia​112
4.6.6.2​Namibia​112
4.6.6.3​Mozambique​113
4.7​Deserts as a Source of Electricity​114
5.​Existing and Emerging Solar PV Markets​119
5.1​Introduction​120
5.2​Water Pumping Utilizing Solar Electricity​121
5.2.1​Africa​126
5.2.2​Middle East​128
5.3​Solar Energy and Clean Water​131
5.3.1​Desalination​131
5.3.2​Disinfection​133
5.4​Off-Grid Telecom Towers​134
5.4.1​Off-Grid or Bad-Grid?​134
5.4.2​Tower operators​135
5.4.3​Renewable Energy Towers​136
5.4.4​Tower ESCOs​137
5.5​Internet with PV​139
5.5.1​Internet in Africa​139
5.5.2​NICE, the Gambia​140
5.6​Solar Energy and Mining​143
5.7​Tele-Medicine and Tele-Education​146
6.​Financing: The Key to Africa and the Middle East’s
Solar Energy Future​151
6.1​Introduction​152
6.2​Solar for Energy Access in Africa​153
Richenda Van Leeuwen
6.2.1​“Below,” “Beyond,” and “Off” the Grid:
Powering Energy Access​154
6.2.2​Why Solar for Energy Access in Africa?​156
6.2.3​Why Hasn’t the Grid Been Extended
across Africa?​156
6.2.4​Global Catalysts: Renewed Attention at
the UN and Beyond​157
6.2.5​Market Expansion​160
6.2.6​Future Directions​162
6.3​Financing Solar in Africa and the Middle East​164
6.3.1​Size Matters​165
6.3.2​Risk​167
6.3.3​Financing Off-Grid​167
6.4​Pay-As-You-Go and Community Solar​170
6.4.1​Where the Grid Doesn’t Reach​170
6.4.2​Solar Products​170
6.4.3​Solar Home Systems​174
6.4.4​M-Kopa​174
6.5​Large-Scale Auctions​178
6.5.1​Introduction​178
6.5.2​Sealed-Bid Auction​179
6.5.3​Descending Clock Auctions​179
6.5.4​Hybrid Auctions​179
6.5.5​South Africa​180
6.5.6​IFC’s Scaling Solar​182
6.5.7​Zambia​184
6.5.8​Epilogue​185
7.​Local Value Creation​187
7.1​Local Value Creation: Analysis​188
7.1.1​Local Content Requirements​189
7.1.2​Discussion​190
7.2​Nascent Manufacturing Sector​192
7.2.1​Fosera​193
7.2.2​Solar Manufacturing in the Middle East​196
7.2.3​Noor Solar Technologies​197
8.​Current and Future Solar Programs in Africa and in the
Middle East​199
8.1​Introduction​200
8.2​Africa​201
8.2.1​Electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa​202
8.2.2​Nigeria​204
8.2.2.1​Large grid-connected projects
in Nigeria​205
8.2.2.2​Feed-in tariffs​206
8.2.2.3​Net metering​206
8.2.2.4​Other solar applications​207
8.2.2.5​Discussion​207
8.2.3​Uganda​208
8.2.4​Namibia​210
8.2.4.1​Utilization of renewable energy
to produce electricity​212
8.2.4.2​Biomass​212
8.2.4.3​Wind​213
8.2.4.4​Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)​213
8.2.4.5​PV Systems​213
8.2.4.6​Commercial and other
organizations​216
8.2.4.7​Summary​218
8.2.5​Senegal​218
8.2.5.1​Impact of solar home systems
in Senegal​219
8.2.5.2​Solar energy in the Middle East
and North Africa​220
8.2.6​Morocco​221
8.2.7​Egypt​223
8.3​The Middle East​225
8.3.1​Jordan​225
8.3.2​United Arab Emirates​225
8.3.3​Saudi Arabia​228
8.4​Into the Future​231
Epilogue​233
Glossary​235
About the Authors​239
About the Contributors​241
Index​243

Gustaf Olsson

Allan, this is a very timely book. Everybody needs to become aware of the huge need for energy and the enormous potential for solar PV in Africa and the Middle East. Renewable energy is really a game-changer. Looking forward to learning more from you book.