Salman's Infobahn

Image via Wikipedia The renewable resource with the greatest potential in South Africa is solar energy. The total area of high radiation in South Africa amounts to approximately 194,000 km2, including the Northern Cape, one of the best solar resource areas in the world.  South Africa has average daily solar radiation of between 4.5 and 6.5 kWh per m 2 . Solar thermal heating is the predominant mode of solar energy utilization in South Africa.  Eskom is building a 100MW concentrated solar (CSP) power project in Upington (Northern Cape) with financial assistance from the World Bank.   The Clinton Climate Initiative is partnering with the   Department of Energy to set up a solar park in the Northern Cape, which will add 5GW to South Africa’s electricity generation. Siemens is also currently   conducting a feasibility study on a possible 210 MW CSP plant in the Northern Cape to possibly come online by 2014 and the Industrial Development Corporation is also invest...

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has supported its member countries in their energy development initiatives for more than four decades. With growing concerns about climate change, AfDB has identified a host of clean energy projects and programs in its pipeline for 2010-2014 to set Africa on a low carbon growth path and develop clean energy systems in the African continent. The AfDB’s Clean Energy Investment Framework aims at promoting sustainable development and contributing to global emissions reduction efforts by using a three-pronged approach: maximize clean energy options, emphasize energy efficiency and enable African countries to participate effectively in CDM sector. The FINESSE Africa Program, financed by the Dutch Government, has been the mainstay of AfDB’s support of renewable energy and energy efficiency since 2004. FINESSE programme has been instrumental in developing a portfolio of sustainable energy projects for the Bank. In addition, the Bank’s Private Secto...