An exhaustive article about wind power in South Africa, click on this cool graphic.

Blurb:

What is becoming more and more apparent is that there is a unique opportunity for the growth of a serious renewable-energy industry in South Africa, given growing security of demand and a desire to reduce the countryâ??s carbon footprint. But what is also plain is that unless government and Eskom take an active role in its promotion, the full potential for renewables will not be realised.

Kenya
From Business Daily Africa:
Wind Energy driving Rural Growth
The article also includes a picture of Simon Mwacharo, the owner of craftskills, TEDster, and friend of the blog.
Blurb:

Simon Mwacharo knows one or two things about moving under the feet of the big boys and girls to be the first on the cash till. While KenGen is scheming in the boardroom on how to meet the rising demand for electricity, Mwacharo is on the ground, providing hundreds of homes with electricity generated from the wind.

Mozambique:
June this year, i used the pun ‘emPowering’ in this post, glad to know that i am not the only corny one: From Off-Grid. net comes a neat post ‘emPowering Africa’

Mozambique University has launched a local program to encourage renewable energy self sufficiency that may become a model across the continent.

From Newscientist: Solar water purifier distributed by Rotary international.

The solar water purifier collects heat from sunlight and uses it to evaporate unpurified water running through the panel. The vapour collects inside the glass forming the panel’s surface and is collected – leaving behind most impurities

hat tip Emeka
Update: Cant believe i almost forgot about this video. William Kamkwamba was featured on WSJ!

end of brief roundup.

Solar Accessories:
Here is a link to a not so flattering post about the solar charger Solio (take it with a grain of salt) I haven’t tried Solio, but mysoldius worked really well for me.

So i finally bought a voltaic backpack. I was worried about traveling with it, especially when going through airport security. The screeners were fascinated about it, asking lots of questions. Joel Johnson of BoingBoing gadgets had mentioned that he had no problems traveling with it – My experience was the same. No issues at all, actually its a great conversation starter.
Initial envy from the geeks at my friend’s office in Kenya – Very High!

From M&G Online – South Africa
Increasing use of renewable energy can be encouraged using an energy policy directive. That is how Denmark did it. South Africa appears to be heading in a positive direction.

Under the proposed by-law — the first of its kind in South Africa — most new buildings (and those undergoing renovations) with a value of more than about R490 000 will be required to meet at least 60% of their water-heating requirements with solar heaters.

The city’s 2005 Energy and Climate-Change Strategy has set a target of having 10% of all city households using solar water heating by 2010. Official estimates put Cape Town’s population at 3,23-million

An update from Timbuktu Chronicles on Ashden award winning companies, Zara Solar of Tanzania and Deng Ltd of Ghana.

The wind continues to blow…

From Refocus – International Renewable Energy Magazine (Print version),

South Africa’s first commercial wind farm is being built in Darling, near Cape Town. It will have capacity of 5.2 MW, and slated to supply Cape Town. A partnership between SA government’s Central Energy Fund, Development Bank of SA, Darling Independent Power Producer and the Danish Development Agency (DANCED).

And now for a different kind of wind
From Timbuktu Chronicles

The pioneering work of Olatubosun Adeleke (Obayomi) in Nigeria, in creating a household scale biogas production system, which you can read about and see great pictures here.