DR Congo joins Africa’s growing battery energy storage

April 16, 2025

Renewable energy producer Tinda Energy and China National Complete Plant Import & Export Corporation Limited (Complant) are set to develop a 56 MW solar project with a 22.5 MWh battery energy storage system. The project will include the installation of two 33 kV transmission lines to evacuate power to the national grid.

  • Solar projects integrated with battery energy storage are becoming increasingly common in new African projects. Even commercial and industrial customers are installing them for baseload power.

  • The DR Congo, though endowed with plenty of hydropower potential, is venturing into solar due to the decline in costs and shorter project development timelines compared to hydropower.

  • Our take: To capitalise on the growing demand for batteries, DR Congo can establish local manufacturing plants through partnerships with established companies… Read more (2 min)

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 spotlights Africa’s youthful population as a catalyst for change but warns of a pressing skills gap. This week, we spoke to solar engineer and trainer Ondora Mogere Dalton, who is equipping marginalised youth with clean energy skills through grassroots initiatives like Solar Mtaani.

  • Dalton argues that though we need skilled solar workers, current rules favouring school degrees could block many capable young people with hands-on experience. Leaders should find a fair way, good rules that keep things safe but don't shut out eager youth. Letting people get certified based on what they've done could really help Africa's young workforce power the solar change.

  • He emphasises that universities and colleges aren't always teaching what the solar industry actually needs. To fix this skills problem, these schools should work closely with solar companies. That way, young people learn the real-world skills that will help them get jobs and build Africa's solar power future.

  • Click here for the full conversation

The Renewables Rising price tracker for April shows that the annual cost of financing a 10 kW solar home system in South Africa increased by approximately 2.4%. This occurred despite a reduction in the cash price. Monthly installments rose by R470 for one of the three companies tracked. Financing costs in Egypt and Kenya remained unchanged.

  • The currencies of these countries showed little fluctuation during the same timeframe, meaning import costs were largely unaffected. However, South Africa saw the most significant change at 4.3%, followed by Egypt at 1.23%, and Kenya with the smallest change at 0.39%.

  • The size of solar home systems financed differs across the countries. In South Africa, financing is mainly for larger systems, typically over 3 kW. In contrast, Kenya and Egypt see more financing for smaller systems, generally under 1 kW.

  • Our take: The cost of financing is expected to remain stable given the currency stability… Read more (2 min)

Solar PV technician completes panel installation in Njombe, Tanzania

Events

🗓️ Attend an event on nuclear energy (Apr 22)

🗓️ Learn about challenges & innovation in renewable energy storage (May 8)

🗓️ Sign up for a trends for renewable energy infrastructure webinar (May 14)

Jobs

💼 Apply for the World Bank’s Senior Energy Specialist position (Kenya)

👷🏻‍♀️ Become Arnergy’s Solar Installation Engineer (Nigeria)

👨‍💻 Lead Sun King’s product operations department (Togo)

Various 

🟢 Nigeria plans a renewable energy university

⚡ Botswana achieves financial close on 11 MW solar projects

💰 Scalar International and Mergence launch initiative to raise $150m 

🤝 Olam Agri and Husk Power collaborate on 1.3 MW solar energy initiative

Seen on LinkedIn 

Kenneth Oguzie, CEO-Africa Canada Trade and Investment Venture, says, “Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) have emerged as a vital tool for financing infrastructure development, particularly in countries facing budgetary constraints and rising demand for modern public facilities.”