Huawei says it is preparing to enter SA’s renewable energy sector, with plans to establish renewable energy stations in SA and on the rest of the continent, in efforts to light up businesses and poorly connected rural communities through its green energy solutions.
At a recent Huawei Digital Power online event, the Chinese multinational technology company outlined its renewable energy strategy for Africa, which it said is premised on three key pillars: low-carbon energy, electrification and intelligent energy management.
Its local renewable energy unit, the Huawei Southern Africa Digital Power Business, says through building zero-carbon sites, zero-carbon data centres and smart PV solutions, it aims to help build a green, connected and intelligent Africa, and bridge the significant energy gap on the continent.
The announcement comes as Africa endures a massive energy crisis, with SA continuing to struggle with the crippling economic effects of prolonged load-shedding.
The company’s range of renewable energy solutions, targeted at large commercial enterprises, SMEs and residential properties, include the Hybrid Power solution PowerCube 1000, Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis, Smart PV solution and FusionSolar.
According to the company, the renewable energy hubs would allow customers to plug into uninterrupted solar photovoltaic (PV) power supply using intelligent technologies, which allow for remote management and remote trouble-shooting, and create a fully-digitalised smart PV service.
Huawei’s smart PV solutions, according to the company, have been deployed in more than 60 countries and regions, and have generated more than 300 billion kWH of green electricity, powering millions of residents and hundreds of industries globally.
Speaking at the event, Huang Su, director of Huawei Southern Africa Digital Power Business, noted there is a strong and urgent need to accelerate the growth of renewable energy across Africa to ensure sufficient, affordable, reliable energy supply for communities and businesses.
“Huawei is at the forefront of addressing those issues. The essence of digital power is integrating cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies with power-generation, storage and consumption. We are ready and willing to provide our full support for building a green Africa and bridging the energy gap.
“Huawei is already a household name in the ICT world. All ICT requires power supply and Huawei has always provided that to one degree or another. Our efforts in the solar PV space are simply an extension of that,” Huang said.
The company says its solutions will be available to SA within the next six months.
According to the International EnergyAgency, around580 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa lacked access to electricity in 2019 − three-quartersof the global total − while renewable energy is expected to contribute22% of Africa’s total energy consumption by2030.
Huawei says it already has PV plants located at three of its campuses – Huawei Dongguan Southern Factory, Hangzhou Research Centre and Nanjing Research Centre – which generated a total of 12.6 million kWh of electricity in 2020.
According to the company, its offerings entail integrating cloud, AI and other digital technologies with renewable power-generating solutions to bridge the energy gap through renewable energy.
“Over time, Huawei will deploy more and more scalable power stations. These power stations can be managed and maintained online, further reducing their carbon footprint. We are uniquely positioned to bring electricity, power supply and data management together. The journey from bits to watts is accelerating and we plan on leading it,” noted Huang.
Share