Africa: Earth Wind & Power (EW&P) moves into Africa

Earth Wind & Power (EW&P) has announced that it is moving into Africa, after having signed Letters of Intent (LOI) for several projects, in the first steps towards collaboration with government ministries. This news follows African Energy Week. 

According to reports, EW&P is looking into using the gas typically wasted in flares from oil platforms to fuel data centers. It is also looking into funding for new solar plants.

Commenting on the possibilities ahead, Ingvil Smines Tybring-Gjedde, CEO and Co-Founder of Earth Wind & Power and former Norwegian Minister of National Public Security and Deputy Minister of Petroleum and Energy, said in an interview with DCD: "Data centers could pay for energy on sunny days when the town doesn't need all the electricity the solar farm is making.

She added that with wind production, one is enabled to purchase energy at night when users require less energy: "We don't want to cannibalize the energy given to the people around about. We take the excess," She said. 

Meanwhile, speaking at the African Energy Week event, Smines Tybring-Gjedde, commented: "We have been encouraged by the discussions we had with a broad range of stakeholders, and we look forward to providing more detail on our early-stage partnerships in the coming weeks."