In an expanse of sand 100km north of Senegal’s capital, two men set to work digging up tree stumps to clear space for what could soon be the biggest solar plant in west Africa.
In less than a year, says the developer Senergy, this shrubby lot will be covered with 96,000 gleaming solar panels from China, injecting up to 30 megawatts into the grid.
It is an attractive prospect for a nation with a dire power deficit, and which currently meets most of its needs by burning imported oil in hugely inefficient diesel generators.
“The context is favourable,” says Karim Ndiaye, the investment director at the French private equity firm Meridiam, which bought out the original Senergy company in 2014.
“The president has made renewables a priority.”
Yet, three years after a deal was signed to build the plant, there were still no building materials in sight recently, just a couple of bulldozers bumping over dunes near Santhiou Mekhe village.
Sunshine is plentiful, solar panels get cheaper by the year and demand for power is skyrocketing but the newness of the technology, bureaucratic hurdles and investor fear of uncharted territory have held back the rollout of solar plants across Africa.
Solar is less than 1 per cent of Africa’s power generation. Outside South Africa and Algeria there are only a few utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plants on the continent, the largest being a 20MW plant in Ghana.
Reuters collected data on more than 3,500MW of projects that have been commissioned in the past six years – approximatley equal to the combined output of Senegal, Uganda, Mali and Cameroon.
In Kenya and Burkina Faso, plants scheduled to open in 2014 are still awaiting construction. In Nigeria and Ghana, projects that began in 2010 and 2011 have yet to find finance.
“We are seeing the same trends everywhere in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Silvia Macri, an analyst at IHS Markit.
“There’s no experience with these projects, and not much clarity around the political framework.”
Lenders want dependable cash flows but in many countries weak legal frameworks, unclear land rights and poor transmission infrastructure make this hard to guarantee, Ms Macri said.
Even after construction began on the Senergy project, equipment still needs to be ordered and permits obtained, says Mathieu Peller, the regional director at Meridiam.
Horse carts trot past power lines in rural Senegal. Electricity is costly and 40 per cent of people have no access.
Cheap solar could change this.
Since 2009 the price of panels has fallen 80 per cent. Last year, the International Renewable Energy Agency, based in Abu Dhabi, said solar power costs were in line with or below those of fossil fuels.
Senegal is ahead of its peers on the continent in at least promoting renewables – its official target is 20 per cent of power from renewables by 2017, against 0.6 per cent now – but it has been overwhelmed by proposals.
After creating a renewable energy law in 2010 the government spent three years sorting through 82 proposals and accepted 10, most of which lacked the funds to see them through, says Yasser Charafi, an officer at the International Finance Corporation, the private-sector arm of the World Bank.
Senergy will sell power to the national electric company for about US$0.11 per kilowatt-hour, which is slightly less than the utility pays for diesel. The World Bank aims to help Senegal slash that by almost half, Mr Charafi says.
Kenya unveiled a renewable energy scheme in 2012 and was inundated with proposals. No plants are yet under construction.
Now it is considering an auction process to attract lower price bids, leaving developers in the lurch, says Tomas Adcock, the chief operating officer at the solar firm Kenergy Renewables.
“Investors are anxious about investing in projects that may never be built,” Mr Adcock says.
Kenya’s ministry of energy did not respond to a request for comment. Developers in several countries described a lack of clear policies, pressure to pay bribes, and negotiations that dragged on for years.
There is often no grid in place to transmit, a problem faced by Douglas Coleman, the projects director of Blue Energy, building a long-awaited 155MW plant in Ghana.
A few projects have beaten the odds. A different plant in Ghana was completed in April by the Chinese company BXC, and a 10MW plant in Uganda is almost built, led by firms in Paris and Dubai’s Access Power.
Nigeria signed its first solar power purchase agreements last month for 14 large-scale plants after four years of negotiations. They are now meant to close financing within a year, and finish construction 18 months later.
“To be honest, some might need more time,” says Yesufu Alonge, the head of power procurement at Nigeria’s bulk trader.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Masters%20of%20the%20Air
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The%20specs
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
Company%20Profile
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Read more about the coronavirus
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Rally schedule:
Saturday: Super Special Spectator Stage – Yas Marina Circuit – start 3.30pm.
Sunday: Yas Marina Circuit Stage 1 (276.01km)
Monday: Nissan Stage 2 (287.92km)
Tuesday: Al Ain Water Stage 3 (281.38km)
Wednesday: ADNOC Stage 4 (244.49km)
Thursday: Abu Dhabi Aviation Stage 5 (218.57km) Finish: Yas Marina Circuit – 4.30pm.
MOTHER%20OF%20STRANGERS
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Company%20profile
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
