One in three new renewables projects is a hybrid

October 27, 2025

Dear subscriber,

Reasons to be optimistic? Hybrid projects are where the money is flowing, and banks are turning rooftops into power plants. Even OPEC can’t resist the pull of the solar wave. Enjoy the read!

– Sammy Jamar, Editor

Battery energy storage is becoming a standard feature in new renewable energy projects in Africa. In October alone, 10 out of 27 new projects, or 37%, include hybrid systems combining solar and storage. This trend is spreading from developed economies to lower-income African countries such as Mali, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

  • Renewables Rising collects monthly data on energy projects across Africa, tracking their development stages, technologies and funders to provide a comprehensive overview of the sector’s growth and progress.

  • In October, new renewable energy projects totalling 5.1 GW were announced, 2 GW more than in September, alongside battery energy storage systems with a combined capacity of 1.1 GWh.

  • Our take: Battery-integrated renewables projects are expected to attract stronger financing support… Read more (2 min)

Africa’s banks have long financed the continent’s energy transition, but few have truly led by example. Increasingly though banks are shifting from seeing renewables as a sustainability target to offering clear economic advantages. The United Bank for Africa (UBA) has announced plans to install solar and battery systems at 50 of its branches across Nigeria.

  • Banks’ direct emissions are relatively low, the rapid growth of digitalisation and data centres is expected to increase their carbon footprint in the coming years.

  • Leading banks such as KCB in Kenya have begun to power some of their data centres with solar energy. This has helped the bank save at least $92,000 annually in energy costs at its headquarters, it says.

  • Our take: Banks shifting from diesel to solar can earn carbon credits from reduced emissions, generating revenue to offset project costs… Read more (2 min)

The OPEC Fund for International Development has approved a $15 million concessional loan for Chad’s Energy Sector Support Project. This investment is aimed at expanding access to clean, affordable power by financing solar mini-grids and rural electrification. It addresses Chad's severe energy poverty, where rural electricity coverage is below 2%.

  • The fund builds on recent investments in renewables, including $47 million loan for the construction of a 372 MW power plant in the Ivory Coast and $40 million loan for a 1,000 MW solar power plant and 600 MWh battery storage system in Egypt.

  • Renewables are drawing ever more interest from fossil fuel–linked funds. Among the examples are Masdar and Al Mansour Holdings from the Gulf.

  • Our take: The Chad deal is less about the amount, $15m is tiny versus need, and more about the direction of capital… Read more (2 min)

Electrify.solar and Kudura Power East Africa Ltd agree to pilot tokenised funding for community solar projects in Kenya

Events

📆 Participate in the C&I Energy + Storage Summit Johannesburg 2025 (Nov 4)

📆 Join peers for the Youth in Energy Transition event (Nov 7)

📆 Attend  Africa Investment Exchange: Power & Renewables 2025 (Nov 17)

Jobs

💼 Join Koolboks as a Business Unit Head (Nigeria)

👷🏻‍♀️ Apply to ARC Power’s Global Head of Technical role (South Africa)

👷🏻‍♂️ Sanergy seeks a Production Engineer (Kenya)

Various 

🟢 Ethiopian Minerals Corp signs MoU with Sunbird for biofuels

⚡ Namibia leads partnership for continent’s first solar-powered AI cluster

🛠️ Tanzania teams up with Africa50 for sustainable infrastructure development

💡 Kenya leads East Africa in power demand and renewable energy production

Seen on LinkedIn 

Jana Kobeissi, General Manager at TriCell Solar Solutions, says, "Nigeria’s transition from being a solar panel importer to a solar-panel producer is not only possible but happening”