Housing in Southern Africa

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July 2015
Energy Efficiency, Green Building & IBTs
Bringing power to SA
REC, the largest European brand
of solar panels, is entering
numerousmarkets in Africa, be-
ginningwith East and South African re-
gions. With solar power uptake on the
African continent predicted to surge
over the coming years – 100 gigawatts
(GW) of solar installations forecasted
by 2030. REC is confident that with its
combination of high performing solar
panels, the established REC Partner
Program, plus training expertise for lo-
cal solar professionals, the company is
in an excellent starting position as the
solar industry gathers pace in Africa.
As industry expands and populations
grow, so does the need for energy,
and the high irradiation levels across
Africa put solar in pole position as a
potential source. With over 600million
people on the continent lacking ac-
cess to power grids, local solar energy
projects will give communities clean,
affordable power without the need for
large-scale, public-funded investment
in grid infrastructures.
There are also moves in the
region to reduce fossil fuel subsi-
dies, which in the past had a dis-
torting effect on competitiveness.
The prospect of higher retail prices
for fossil fuel-based energy will act
as a further incentive to go solar.
Some countries have already set their
sights on increasing renewable energy
sources: Ghana, for instance, aims to
meet 10% of its energy needs from
renewable sources by 2020. Reflect-
ing the demand for solar energy, REC
forecasts 75-100 megawatts (MW) to
be installed in the utility segment in
2016 in Ghana, 10 MW in commercial
and 1-2 MW in residential.
Luc Graré, Senior Vice President of
the East and South African regions at
REC, describes the outlook and chal-
lenges ahead: “Africa’s greatest growth
challenge is energy, and there’s a
serious need to quickly get additional
generation capacity in place to meet
increasing energy demands. We ex-
pect around 100 GW of solar panels
to be installed in the region by 2030,
with residential markets and turnkey
solutions offering particularly good
opportunities.”
“However, financing of investments
is generally critical, so it’s vital to
choose a supplier that is highly bank-
able. As the financially most stable
solar panel manufacturer worldwide,
our customers can rely on REC’s
sustainable business. Our long-term
success is based on highly reliable
REC solar panels, even in the harshest
climate conditions.”
REC will begin by opening regional
hubs in the East and South African
regions. To accommodate the mar-
kets’ demand for small-scale off-grid
power generation systems, REC will
be offering kit solutions for residential
installations and solar hybridboxes for
20-50kW installations.
The company also plans to intro-
duce the programs and structures that
have made its business so successful
around the world – for instance, by
establishing a network of RECdistribu-
tors as part of its successful Partner
Program. REC is also setting up the
REC Academy, a new service to train
distributors, who will in turn train
local solar professionals and seed
REC’s long-standing experience and
expertise into the region.
The company will participate
in the South African Solar Show
next year, one of the major events.
Munich, Germany – June 25, 2015: REC,
the largest European brand of solar
panels, is entering numerous markets
in Africa, beginningwith ECOWAS, East
and South African regions.
With solar power uptake on the Afri-
can continent predicted to surge over
the coming years – 100 gigawatts (GW)
of solar installations are forecasted
by 2030.
REC is confident that with its com-
bination of high performing solar
panels, the established REC Partner
Program, plus training expertise for lo-
cal solar professionals, the company is
in an excellent starting position as the
solar industry in Africa gathers pace.
For further information go to
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