Sub-Saharan Africa

“Without energy, we can’t fight this,” said Bill Lenihan, CEO of Zola Electric, a company that develops solar and storage systems in Africa.

Also in the brief: Powerhome has partnered with Generac, Duke Energy is donating $150,000 in low-income bill relief, Seychelles readies the world’s largest salt-water floating solar plant and more.

Also in the morning brief: Maine’s renewable procurement, Scatec Solar’s big South African solar plant, Silfab Solar’s manufacturing expansion in Washington, plus the NABCEP conference is next month.

State-owned China Energy Engineering said the PV capacity will be developed in two phases in a deal worth $500 million.

Plus the Rise and Fall of Real Goods Solar, Australian solar predictions and 50 MW of PV in Zimbabwe

Illegally re-badged panels were sold to Senegal, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Turkey and Syria. Italian authorities found 60 tons of panels.

SolarCity, a nonprofit acquired by Tesla, launched the nonprofit GivePower in 2013 — and the Rive brothers, SolarCity’s founders, are on the board.

Amnesty International has denounced cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo for human rights violations and the use of child labor since 2016. This has led LG Chem and other companies to insist on standards for battery cell suppliers.

On a continent where 600 million people have no access to electricity, “The combination of solar and fintech is driving an economic transformation.”

Caterpillar-branded SunPower modules will be available in Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, and the Middle East – but not yet the United States.