Solar-Powered Food Carts Converted to Virus Disinfection Vehicles in Kabul
Marzia Sikandar served burgers and rice from her solar-powered mobile cart in Kabul, but now, wearing a protective suit, she distributes masks and offers free soap and water in the Afghan capital to combat the coronavirus outbreak. Her converted carbon-neutral rickshaw is one of around 40 owned by social enterprise Banu’s Kitchen which had until recently employed women to sell food and support their families in Afghanistan’s conservative society, but has now been transformed into mobile sanitising stations in a country where many are without running water or easy access to health services.
Bangladesh opens €200m loan fund for eco-friendly imports
The government of Bangladesh has launched a €200 million ($217 million) Green Transformation Fund to offer soft loans for the import of environmentally-friendly products and energy efficiency components from Europe. A senior official at the central bank of Bangladesh has told pvmagazine the fund can be expanded from the lender’s euro reserves if there is sufficient demand. The move comes after the government opened a similar, dollar-denominated $200 million fund in January 2019.
SgurrEnergy India Surpasses 33GW of Global Solar Project Consulting in March 2020
The company had completed a humble 9GW consulting experience with 300 customers. In March 2020, those numbers are a staggering 33GW global consulting with 550 customer and counting. SgurrEnergy has been involved in several landmark global solar projects. The company provided solar design & engineering services for one of the world’s largest solar project, a 648MW solar installation in India. Few of the recent solar projects include a 200MW in Bangladesh, 30MW in Ukraine, 200MW in Australia, 50MW in Ben Ban Solar Park, Egypt, 750MW Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park in India, 40MW in Jordan, 10MW in Saudi Arabia and many more.
Maldives tenders 21 MW of PV
The Ministry of Finance of the Maldives has issued a tender for the deployment of a 21 MW grid-tied solar project, to be built across several locations. Interested developers will have time until May 14 to submit their offers. The pre-qualification process ended on March 12. The projects, which will be part of the tiny nation’s Accelerating Renewable Energy Integration and Sustainable Energy (ARISE) program, will consist of an 11 MW floating PV array in Addu and 10 MW of ground-mounted PV capacity that will be built in portions across Addu, Fuvahmulah, Kulhudhuffushi, Thinadhoo, Eydhafushi, and Hinnavaru.
