The Solar Show Africa: Piercing the Night, Illuminating Africa

The Solar Show Africa 2023 was held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on April 25th and 26th, with over 300 exhibitors showcasing a range of energy solutions including photovoltaic components, energy storage systems, critical power, TD, and technical components. To better position ourselves in the African market, Lithium Valley participated in the exhibition with our new customized energy storage battery products and comprehensive one-stop energy storage application solutions.

Overview of the Exhibition 

The Solar Show Africa 2023 is an exhibition focusing on the solar energy industry. It aims to showcase the latest technology, products, and services while providing a platform for industry professionals to communicate and collaborate. 

Nearly 9,000 industry professionals from around the world attended the exhibition, including solar energy companies, government agencies, research institutions, and investors. This year, many companies showcased their innovative technologies and products such as high-efficiency solar cells, intelligent PV monitoring systems, and new energy storage solutions, which are expected to further reshape the solar energy industry. 

Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, the South African Minister of Energy, gave a speech announcing the country's support for its largest-ever renewable energy capacity investment, including a new 15,000 MW bidding window and incentives for industrial capacity building. The energy crisis is the most urgent challenge facing South Africans and has a significant impact on the economy and people's lives. The government's energy plan aims to address this crisis by restoring Eskom and enabling private investment in new generation capacity, accelerating the procurement of new capacity from renewable energy, natural gas, and battery storage, and transforming the power sector to achieve energy security.

Accelerating Africa's Clean Energy Future 

Statista's Data from World Bank Global Solar Atlas analyzed the average potential for solar energy worldwide, revealing that Africa is in a leading position, as shown in this infographic. Combined with the average long-term actual electricity generation of solar installations for each country's public utilities, Africa's average of 4.51 kWh/kWp/day ranks ahead of Central & South America, which is in second place at 4.48, while North America is further behind at 4.37. 

Many of the underdeveloped countries in Africa have yet to fully utilize this potential, but as the infographic shows, Africa's vast clean energy market represents a unique opportunity to provide affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity services to most people, improving the economic and living standards of Africans. 

More and more African countries are adopting solar energy generation, mainly focused on commercial and industrial sectors. According to the African Solar Industry Association (AFSIA)'s "2023 African Solar Outlook" report, industrial solar power generation in Africa grew by over 60% in 2022, with a cumulative solar installation capacity exceeding 10 GW. Commercial and industrial solar installations now account for 30% of all solar installations on the continent, and in the next period, African industrial and commercial energy storage will experience explosive growth. 

South Africa stands out in this regard, where unpredictable, prolonged, and frequent power outages have become part of daily life for individuals and businesses throughout 2022. Due to poor management by the national power company Eskom, coupled with aging infrastructure and inefficient operations, South Africa has implemented rotating blackouts in different regions. The load shedding in South Africa is divided into eight different stages, with each stage reducing power supply by 1000 MW. 

As of now, South Africa's load shedding remains at stage six, meaning many people experience power outages of more than six hours per day. Although progress has been made in filling the gap in electricity generation capacity, the country expects the load to continue to decrease in the next two to three years. 

Behind the crisis lies an opportunity, and 2023 is a year for private enterprise investment in power generation in South Africa, which will fundamentally change the current situation. To alleviate the pressure on Eskom and address the country's power crisis, South Africa has lifted the permit requirement for self-generation of electricity by companies (last year it also lifted the 100 MW threshold as South Africa's power crisis worsened), thereby increasing private sector investment in the power sector. 

Nersa's latest data shows that the number of new projects registered by South African private companies for new-generation capacity is growing exponentially. In 2022, 1646 MW of new power generation projects were registered, and in the first two months of 2023 alone, more than 1 GW was registered. 

In response to the current explosive growth of energy storage in Africa, Lithium Valley has also launched multiple products aimed at meeting the energy needs of African households and businesses, providing a reliable and sustainable source of electricity for the African continent.

About Lithium Valley 

Shenzhen Lithium Valley Technology Co., Ltd. was established in 2013, focusing on home energy storage and commercial & industrial energy storage applications. With the vision of "Making the World a Green Valley," Lithium Valley aims to provide customers with customized energy storage products and comprehensive one-stop energy storage solutions. Our current products include a series of high and low-voltage home energy storage products and industrial & commercial energy storage systems. These products have obtained international authoritative certifications such as CB, CE (EMC&LVD), UL1973, UL9540A, BIS, ISO9001, and ISO14001. 

After more than a decade of work in the industry, Lithium Valley strictly adheres to the principles of high quality, high efficiency, and sustainable development in the production and manufacturing fields. We have established a scientific and stable supply chain system. For the procurement and inspection of battery cells, we have established close partnerships with several leading domestic battery cell suppliers to ensure the quality and stability of the system at the source. After the strict screening, the battery cells will be assembled into battery modules and integrated into energy storage systems with our self-developed BMS battery management system. 

Our quality control team will monitor the entire production process rigorously and ensure that each product undergoes a series of rigorous tests before leaving the factory, including battery performance testing, safety testing, and environmental adaptability testing, ensuring the reliability and stability of the product to a great extent. 

2023 is destined to be a year of substantial progress. Lithium Valley is accelerating the overseas layout, establishing a global production and distribution strategic system, and setting up overseas warehouses in Germany, Hungary, and the United States, further expanding the market share in Europe, the United States, Africa, and South America. 

Our one-stop energy storage solution is committed to reducing our customers' dependence on traditional grid electricity and contributing to a cleaner and more environmentally friendly future.