In Africa, over the last ten years, individual solar systems have started to fill in the gap in electricity access thanks to significant support of the World Bank.
In Madagascar, the World Bank’s £314 million support plan for Digital and Energy Connectivity for Inclusion is expected to drastically dynamise the electricity sector and create opportunities for local players.
Through its 8-year presence in Madagascar, project partner Nanoé; nano-grid and collective solar system provider, has established relationships both upwards and downwards in the solar power supply chain that will be leveraged during and after the project.
In terms of the UK's market position, this project is aligned with the Breakthrough Energy Coalition's goals for accelerating and deploying innovation in renewable energy and storage. The coalition seeks to create markets that enable successful commercialisation of clean energy technologies and financial mechanisms that incentivise the adoption of clean energy solutions and drive investment in the solar power sector.
The PowerPath business model uses a bottom-up approach to do exactly this; Nanoé’s collective solar systems can deliver power to 4-6 households. Since 2017, over 3,000 of these solar nano-grids were deployed, connecting over 12,000 users in about 500 villages of the Diana, Sava and Sofia regions of Northern Madagascar.