FTC Solar Announces Its First Project in Africa

FTC Solar Inc, a solar energy company based in Texas, US, announced that it has been allotted its first project in Africa since entering this new market earlier this year.

FTC solar entered this innovative agrivoltaic project in Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) campus. The project of around 1 MW has been developed by AAAS Energy jointly with BUAN, with the last stage development and EPC works being undertaken by Soventix, South Africa (Pty) Ltd.

Ali Mortazavi, FTC Solar’s head of Sales and Marketing said that the company is pleased to announce their first of the many projects they expect in Africa. “This exciting FTC Solar opportunity represents our initial project on the continent and our first with Soventix, a strong global EPC company with a growing pipeline. The project, on the beautiful Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources campus, will provide clean solar power for teachers and students working to advance the sciences and local quality of life.”, he commented.

The project will provide clean solar power for the teachers and students at BUAN campus working to advance the sciences and local quality of life, with an aim to deal with food and energy security. It intends to support research and data collection pertaining to the agrivoltaic concept – dual use of land in solar photovoltaic power and agricultural purposes.

The proposed long-term goals of the agrivoltaic plant focus on finding sustainable solutions for climate-resilient practices, associated with the concept of growing crops in the harsh African climate, and mitigating risks associated with agriculture by generating power. The plant is expected to generate power in early 2022, which will be cheaper and can be sold to create a constant revenue stream. 

The project will utilize FTC Solar’s latest Voyager+ tracker solution. 

Soventix MD for Southern Africa, Jean-Paul de Villers said, “We are looking forward to working with FTC Solar on this project that features a strong environmental and social component, that specifically supports the university and their research in addressing two of the greatest concerns on the African continent; food security and energy. FTC Solar’s differentiated tracker solution and customer-focused approach is a perfect fit for this project.”  

This very first project of FTC Solar represents a meaningful opportunity for the company in the growing African solar market, as it is expected that more than 100 GW of solar capacity will be installed in Africa by 2030, according to a report by Wood Mackenzie in September 2021.