Shem Oirere, Africa Correspondent08.21.23
Africa is scaling up investment in green energy with increased generation of electricity from more environment-friendly sources such as wind and solar, a trend that has created demand for coated equipment such as wind turbines and solar panels.
Although the continent’s renewable energy accounts for less than 3% of the world’s installed renewables-based electricity generation capacity according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), governments in the region are responding to concerns about environmental pollution by embracing greener options with some of the countries offering tax rebates for institutions or entities that installing renewable energy technologies. This is driving growth in the use of relevant renewable energy generation equipment that require protective coatings that enhance efficiency in electricity production.
A joint report by IRENA and the African Development Bank says for the 20 years between 2000 and 2020, Africa attracted almost US$60 billion in investment in renewables with remarkable average growth between 2010 and 2020 when the growth rate was estimated at 96% compared to 15% in Asia-Oceania and 7% globally.
In fact, the continent has in recent years experienced growth in renewables-based power generation capacity with an estimated 7% increase between 2010 and 2020.
IRENA says the largest additions were in solar energy driven by “individual countries’ large-scale projects, particularly new utility-scale hydropower and solar PV projects.”
And in what appears to be a potential trigger for increased consumption solar energy coated equipment in Africa, IRENA identifies this source of electricity generation as the “fastest-growing renewable energy source in Africa.”
“Between 2011 and 2020, solar capacity in Africa grew at an average compound annual growth rate of 54%, two and a half times that of wind (22.5%), almost four times that of geothermal (14.7%) and almost 17 times that of hydropower (3.2%),” IRENA said.
In the last 10 years, total solar additions were approximately 10.4 GW that include 9.4 GW solar PV and 1 GW concentrated solar power. The expanding solar energy generation is driving growth in sales of solar coated panels in Africa.
The solar panels are made to depend on photons from sunlight to function and the more sunlight the cells take in, the higher the electricity they will produce.
Solar panel coatings are deposited on solar panels during the manufacturing process.
Growth in residential and commercial buildings, as Africa’s real estate sector expands, continues to drive demand for solar panel coatings alongside deployment in other industries such as agriculture and automotive.
Some experts say silicon solar cell with a glass covering that is not coated can reflect up to a third of the sunlight without the photons ever reaching the cell.
But with the use of a thin film of silicon nitride or titanium oxide as coating, the reflectivity of the solar panel is substantially reduced hence the cells generate more energy utilizing the same amount of sunlight according to Transcontinental Inc., a Montreal-based packaging, commercial printing and specialty media company.
The company explains this increased efficiency enhances the sustainability of solar installations because each panel can produce more energy over its lifetime.
As a bonus, Transcontinental says on its website, the anti-reflective coating helps solar installations fit in with their surroundings and allows solar panels to be installed in areas near airports without the risk of the glare affecting pilots.
Among the emerging renewable energy markets is West Africa, where a regional trading bloc, Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) with a membership of 15 countries is implementing a major solar energy project expected to consume substantial coated solar panels.
With more than 50% of the population in region having no access to electricity and even those who have access experiencing unreliable supply, these countries, through ECOWAS, have since March 2021 been implementing, with the support of the World Bank, the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP) project targeting off-grid electricity consumers in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Togo and four non-ECOWAS countries of Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Chad, and Mauritania. These countries cover a geographic area that is equivalent to Brazil.
The project entails development of a regional renewable energy market by ECOWAS, as well as providing financing for stand-alone solar systems businesses. The funding will be provided by the West African Development Bank.
Elsewhere, Angola, Mali, Mozambique, Tunisia and Zimbabwe are implementing solar energy projects with phenomenal growth in green energy generation between 2021 and 2022.
In Angola, the government has recently approved the construction of a 90 MW on-grid Solar PV plant as part of the country’s drive to ramp investment in the production, transport and distribution of electricity nationwide.
At least seven solar plants with a combined capacity of 180.36MW in six of the 18 provinces. The largest solar power plant project in Angola will have a capacity of 188MW in the municipality of Catumbela in the Province of Benguela.
Mali is also scaling up solar energy projects including rural electrification networks through construction of isolated solar PV green mini-grid systems to serve at least 50 pre-selected communities.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the uptake of solar panels as many projects were halted for more essential products, there is an indication solar PV projects in the region could be making a comeback as the continent’s economies recover with more to spend on green electricity generation.
Furthermore, growth in Africa’s solar energy generation has attracted investment in panel manufacturing, hence opening new opportunities for increased use of coating solutions.
However, solar panels manufacturing in Africa is still insignificant and the continent remains a consuming market relying imports from international manufacturers who depend on global solar panel coatings producers for feedstock.
Some of the global solar panel coatings manufacturers, whose products could be available in the African market include Arkema Group, Fenzi SpA, NanoTech Products Pty Ltd, PPG Industries, NanoShell Ltd, Unelko Corporation, Diamon Fusion International Inc among others.
Arkema Group, which has operations in South Africa, says on its website solar PV “is growing rapidly throughout the world.”
The company has been manufacturing solar panel materials, especially polymers “to increase the sturdiness, lifetime and performance of solar panels.”
Elsewhere in Burkina Faso, the government recently inaugurated a solar panel production and assembly plant, which in 2021 was the first such facility within the ECOWAS region. The facility will support installation of at least 30MW annually.
In South Africa, there is only one local manufacturer capable of producing about 300MW of panels per annum according to the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA), a non-profit industry association with a membership from active players in South Africa's photovoltaic market.
The biggest challenge in expanding local solar panel manufacturing, SAPVIA says, is the reluctance by tier one international players to invest in production due to “delays in permits and licensing requirements for independent power producers.” This makes South Africa one of the solar panel coatings consuming markets in Africa.
Nevertheless, as Arkema Group says in one of its previous releases “the global demand for energy is expected to double by 2050 and given the necessity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy independence, resorting to renewable energies has now become inescapable.” This reality is what will drive consumption of coated solar panels in Africa and subsequently growth of solar panels manufacturing, and coatings use in the continent.
Although the continent’s renewable energy accounts for less than 3% of the world’s installed renewables-based electricity generation capacity according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), governments in the region are responding to concerns about environmental pollution by embracing greener options with some of the countries offering tax rebates for institutions or entities that installing renewable energy technologies. This is driving growth in the use of relevant renewable energy generation equipment that require protective coatings that enhance efficiency in electricity production.
A joint report by IRENA and the African Development Bank says for the 20 years between 2000 and 2020, Africa attracted almost US$60 billion in investment in renewables with remarkable average growth between 2010 and 2020 when the growth rate was estimated at 96% compared to 15% in Asia-Oceania and 7% globally.
In fact, the continent has in recent years experienced growth in renewables-based power generation capacity with an estimated 7% increase between 2010 and 2020.
IRENA says the largest additions were in solar energy driven by “individual countries’ large-scale projects, particularly new utility-scale hydropower and solar PV projects.”
And in what appears to be a potential trigger for increased consumption solar energy coated equipment in Africa, IRENA identifies this source of electricity generation as the “fastest-growing renewable energy source in Africa.”
“Between 2011 and 2020, solar capacity in Africa grew at an average compound annual growth rate of 54%, two and a half times that of wind (22.5%), almost four times that of geothermal (14.7%) and almost 17 times that of hydropower (3.2%),” IRENA said.
In the last 10 years, total solar additions were approximately 10.4 GW that include 9.4 GW solar PV and 1 GW concentrated solar power. The expanding solar energy generation is driving growth in sales of solar coated panels in Africa.
The solar panels are made to depend on photons from sunlight to function and the more sunlight the cells take in, the higher the electricity they will produce.
Solar panel coatings are deposited on solar panels during the manufacturing process.
Growth in residential and commercial buildings, as Africa’s real estate sector expands, continues to drive demand for solar panel coatings alongside deployment in other industries such as agriculture and automotive.
Some experts say silicon solar cell with a glass covering that is not coated can reflect up to a third of the sunlight without the photons ever reaching the cell.
But with the use of a thin film of silicon nitride or titanium oxide as coating, the reflectivity of the solar panel is substantially reduced hence the cells generate more energy utilizing the same amount of sunlight according to Transcontinental Inc., a Montreal-based packaging, commercial printing and specialty media company.
The company explains this increased efficiency enhances the sustainability of solar installations because each panel can produce more energy over its lifetime.
As a bonus, Transcontinental says on its website, the anti-reflective coating helps solar installations fit in with their surroundings and allows solar panels to be installed in areas near airports without the risk of the glare affecting pilots.
Among the emerging renewable energy markets is West Africa, where a regional trading bloc, Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) with a membership of 15 countries is implementing a major solar energy project expected to consume substantial coated solar panels.
With more than 50% of the population in region having no access to electricity and even those who have access experiencing unreliable supply, these countries, through ECOWAS, have since March 2021 been implementing, with the support of the World Bank, the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP) project targeting off-grid electricity consumers in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Togo and four non-ECOWAS countries of Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Chad, and Mauritania. These countries cover a geographic area that is equivalent to Brazil.
The project entails development of a regional renewable energy market by ECOWAS, as well as providing financing for stand-alone solar systems businesses. The funding will be provided by the West African Development Bank.
Elsewhere, Angola, Mali, Mozambique, Tunisia and Zimbabwe are implementing solar energy projects with phenomenal growth in green energy generation between 2021 and 2022.
In Angola, the government has recently approved the construction of a 90 MW on-grid Solar PV plant as part of the country’s drive to ramp investment in the production, transport and distribution of electricity nationwide.
At least seven solar plants with a combined capacity of 180.36MW in six of the 18 provinces. The largest solar power plant project in Angola will have a capacity of 188MW in the municipality of Catumbela in the Province of Benguela.
Mali is also scaling up solar energy projects including rural electrification networks through construction of isolated solar PV green mini-grid systems to serve at least 50 pre-selected communities.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the uptake of solar panels as many projects were halted for more essential products, there is an indication solar PV projects in the region could be making a comeback as the continent’s economies recover with more to spend on green electricity generation.
Furthermore, growth in Africa’s solar energy generation has attracted investment in panel manufacturing, hence opening new opportunities for increased use of coating solutions.
However, solar panels manufacturing in Africa is still insignificant and the continent remains a consuming market relying imports from international manufacturers who depend on global solar panel coatings producers for feedstock.
Some of the global solar panel coatings manufacturers, whose products could be available in the African market include Arkema Group, Fenzi SpA, NanoTech Products Pty Ltd, PPG Industries, NanoShell Ltd, Unelko Corporation, Diamon Fusion International Inc among others.
Arkema Group, which has operations in South Africa, says on its website solar PV “is growing rapidly throughout the world.”
The company has been manufacturing solar panel materials, especially polymers “to increase the sturdiness, lifetime and performance of solar panels.”
Elsewhere in Burkina Faso, the government recently inaugurated a solar panel production and assembly plant, which in 2021 was the first such facility within the ECOWAS region. The facility will support installation of at least 30MW annually.
In South Africa, there is only one local manufacturer capable of producing about 300MW of panels per annum according to the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA), a non-profit industry association with a membership from active players in South Africa's photovoltaic market.
The biggest challenge in expanding local solar panel manufacturing, SAPVIA says, is the reluctance by tier one international players to invest in production due to “delays in permits and licensing requirements for independent power producers.” This makes South Africa one of the solar panel coatings consuming markets in Africa.
Nevertheless, as Arkema Group says in one of its previous releases “the global demand for energy is expected to double by 2050 and given the necessity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy independence, resorting to renewable energies has now become inescapable.” This reality is what will drive consumption of coated solar panels in Africa and subsequently growth of solar panels manufacturing, and coatings use in the continent.
