There’s an inherent commercial tension within the way companies approach structuring renewable energy projects. In any new area, there’s naturally an element of trial and error that's characterised renewables for both technology providers, developers and investors (as technologies evolve, as legislative frameworks and policy develops and so on). It comes with the territory in emerging industries. However something that’s often overlooked is the way deal-structuring goes through the same kind of trial and error. In many respects, this area is more critical to the delivery of low-carbon solutions than even the technology itself. To explain the issue simply, [...]
Read MoreLast week the 350 team were meeting government officials in Malawi and Zambia, and during the journey we saw just how important geographical concerns are for renewable development. In particular, as we explored the issues facing African renewable energy we confirmed a key element of our strategy to match the right renewable technology to the local ecosystem, economic needs and political climate for the region. Put simply, Sub-Saharan Africa doesn't need solar. It placed us in the unusual position of being invited to discuss expanding the Malawian renewable power supply from 350MW towards their long term goal of [...]
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