VenturesNow

First floating solar station goes into operation in Tunisia

Published

2 years ago

November 14, 2022

Tunisia has launched its first floating solar station on a lake next to a Tunis industrial park with the expectation that the 200-kilowatt project put together by a French renewables company, Qair, can be a prototype for bigger projects nationwide, energy officials said on Monday.

The project which kicked off in 2015, was to see Tunisia set ambitious targets for renewables but by 2021, with green sources accounting for only 2.8 percent of the country’s energy mix, the rest of the country’s energy source had to come from natural gas.

Speaking in the breakthrough, Omar Bey, an executive for the French-based Qair group said:

“When we started at the time, it was the first project in Africa for a floating solar power plant in the water. The originality of this project means we can use water instead of taking up land that can be used for other things like farming or homes.

“Using floating solar panels helps to conserve water resources whilst making the panels more energy efficient.”

Also speaking on the floating station, Hassen Amiri, manager of Sater Solar energy company which is managing the station said, the panels will allow a reduction of water evaporation.

“Floating solar panels first of all allow the reduction of water evaporation when they are installed on a water body. So this evaporation of water in countries like Tunisia, which is water-stressed, certainly allows the dams to keep more water reserves.

“We’re blessed with a lot of sunshine in Tunisia, and it’s not like in other places such as the Gulf, the solar panels have the characteristics and the sunshine is good, and we can exploit it, so why not let everyone put up solar panels? The field is developing and will keep on doing so,” Amiri said.

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VenturesNow

Food prices drive second straight monthly hike in Nigeria’s inflation

Published

48 minutes ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to official statistics released on Friday, Nigeria’s inflation rate increased for the second consecutive month in October, rising to 33.88% in annual terms from 32.70% in September, mostly as a result of increasing food costs.

In an attempt to boost economic development and strengthen public finances, President Bola Tinubu devalued the naira and reduced subsidies, which caused inflation to spike in the second half of last year.

As the effects of the naira devaluation started to lessen in July of this year, a slew of hikes in the price of petroleum and devastating floods that destroyed crops once again exacerbated pricing pressures, making the greatest cost-of-living crisis in decades worse in Africa’s most populous country.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, price increases for basics such as rice, maize, bread, potatoes, and cooking oil prompted food inflation to surge from 37.77% in October to 39.16% year over year.

This year, more than 1.5 million hectares of agriculture have been damaged by torrential rain and floods in 29 of Nigeria’s 36 states, leaving millions hungry and displacing large numbers of people.

In an effort to curb inflation, the central bank has raised interest rates five times this year. On November 26, it is expected to make its final rate decision of the year.

VenturesNow

MTN financial report reveals drop in group service revenue

Published

56 minutes ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Due to operational difficulties in Sudan and the depreciation of the Nigerian naira, MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecom provider, announced on Thursday an 18.5% decline in service revenue for the third quarter that concluded on September 30.

With 288 million users in 17 African regions, MTN said that its group service revenue dropped from 156.3 billion rand ($6.99 billion) in the same quarter of the previous year to 127.4 billion rand.

Despite stating that “the naira was less volatile on a sequential basis in Q3 than in preceding quarters,” the business reported a 48.7% decline in MTN Nigeria’s income due to the currency’s depreciation.

Due to a stronger Ugandan shilling than the previous year, Uganda’s largest contributor, MTN South Africa (MTN SA), expanded by a meagre 3.3%.

Due to “subscriber registration regulations in Nigeria and a decline in users in Sudan, where the conflict has displaced millions of people,” the business reported that its subscriber base increased by 1.6% to 288 million.

Given the higher demand in Nigeria despite the legal obstacles, MTN plans to increase its capital expenditures, which it expects would total between 28 and 33 billion rand for the entire year.