Growing activities in the African market for The meeco Group last year
Present in South Africa since 2006, in Mauritius since the first quarter of 2012 and regularly present in Angola for the last 4 years, The meeco Group’s focus in the Indian Ocean and African markets has gained importance. In fact, the swiss-based clean energy specialist has been very active in the region, developing projects and partnerships in South Africa, Malawi, Kenya, Ghana, Morocco, Jordan, Nigeria, Yemen, Tanzania and Gambia. “We have always considered the African market as one of the most promising markets in the solar industry”, explains Dieter Trutschler, Sales Director for The meeco Group.
“Africa is full of solar business opportunities, with most energy sources being geographical isolated and known for their blackouts”, confirms Peer-Olav Schmidt, The meeco Group’s representative for Portuguese-speaking markets in Africa. The meeco Group has been particularly involved in Angola, Mauritius, South Africa and Kenya, working on portable solutions and medium-scale projects in remote areas, which provide electricity for both business and residential use. For the third consecutive year, meeco has attended Luanda’s International Fair (FILDA), the largest international exhibition in Angola. “Local investors show a great concern for image in the market and are definitely quality focused. Being at the FILDA and having the visit of both Germany’s Ambassador in Angola as well as the representative of the Overseas Chamber of Commerce and several of Angola’s Ministers has opened doors in the market and contributed to establish The meeco Group as a key actor in the regions’ solar market” explains Mr. Schmidt.
In Mauritius, 2012 was marked by a intensive partnership and collaboration with the local partner Solar Ernte-Technik Ltd (SETL, a member of the Leal Group) and the positive support of the government in regards to renewable energies. “The solar energy demand in 2012 has steadily increased, reaching around 800 kWp in the territory”, declares Enrique Tébar, Project Manager for The meeco Group in Mauritius. In its 2009-2025 Energy Strategy Plan, the Government of Mauritius has set itself to reach to at least 35% of total energy generation by 2025. To meet this objective, the Ministry of Energy & Public Utilities and the Central Electricity Board (CEB) have established a regulatory framework and Feed-in Tariff to promote Small-Scale Distributed Generation (SSDG) projects of up to 50 kW capacity. Also part of this program are Medium-Scale Distributed Generation (MSDG), which includes projects with over 50 kW power capacity, and a public Tender for the installation of grid-connected Solar PV installations of total capacity of 10 MW, composed by individual projects ranging between 1MW and 2MW inclusive.
“In 2012 we have brought solar rooftop power to 17 schools, with power capacities ranging from 6 to 18 kWp”, explains Tébar. In total, 67 Mauritian schools are being equipped with solar power by SETL and The meeco Group , most of them to be completed in the course of the first quarter of 2013 (see BEC project). In addition, 300 kWp have been installed across 6 commercial installations of 50 kWp each, and another 10 residential projects, adding up to 30 kWp more.
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