An announcement this week by prime minister Raila Odinga that the Kenyan government planned to provide free to the public energy saving light bulbs as part of efforts to address growing energy requirements is stirring the country’s alternative energy market.
A new trend marking a shift to alternative energy products by industry players is quickly emerging.
Stores [...]

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Africa gained significantly in 2008 as some $155 billion was invested in clean energy companies and projects worldwide, not including large hydro, a new report says.
Quite a number of these investments were in developing nations, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa included.
However, in comparison, investments in other developing regions of the world, notably Latin America and [...]

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By Dave Harcourt*
Three different news items highlight the vast differences in viewpoint and the continuing uncertainty around the farming of Jatropha by small scale farmers as a feedstock for Europe’s refineries moving towards meeting the EU’s renewable liquid fuel goals.
Clarity on What Jatropha Can Deliver
At the recent Africa Biofuels Conference in Midrand South Africa, Vincent [...]

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By Bas Vlugt*
The Sustainer is a unique solution to produce fuel and electricity in remote rural areas, for example in the African countryside where only 5 to 20 percent of the population have electricity.
In many of these situations, access to energy would facilitate development, higher productivity and better education. Moreover, locally available resources can be [...]

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By Dave Harcourt*
Only a few years ago Jatropha was considered to be the wonder biodiesel feedstock suitable for production by small scale farmers in poor soils and arid countries.
It has not lived up to the hype and it will be years before it can compete agronomically with soya and it is not scalable to the [...]

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