SPS, an Algerian metal sandwich panel manufacturer, has decided to team up with Dubai-based mounting system provider Qi-energy to make mounting structures for PV systems in Algeria.
The initiative follows the Algerian government’s recently announced plan to tender 4 GW of large-scale PV up to 2024 under a scheme that will include strong domestic content requirements for solar panels, cables and mounting systems.
The two companies said the mounting systems they will manufacture will comply with international quality and bankability standards, as requested by the local content strategy implemented by the government. Costs for mounting systems may represent as much as 12% of a total project balance-of-system (BOS) costs, the two companies said.
“Our partnership with Qi-energy is the answer to Algeria strategy to implement local content, and at SPS we have chosen to raise the bar by introducing to the Algerian market very high quality solutions for ground mounted, residential and soon for Solar PV for Seawater desalination plants that requires new material,” said SPS CEO Mehdi Bendimerad.
Qi-energy CEO Neil Doe said the company’s search for a partner in Africa took time. “We always look for partners in foreign markets that share our passion for growth, we place a high value on reputation and admire business’s that is adaptable in these changing times,” added Doe.
SPS can currently produce 300 MW of mounting structures per year. It intends to ramp up this capacity to 450 MW in 2021, while also moving forward with the automation of production. Raw materials will be provided by suppliers located in Algeria, Europa and the United Arab Emirates.
A document recently published by the Algerian Electricity and Gas Regulation Commission predicted that the domestic module industry had reached 500 MW of annual production capacity by the first quarter of this year.
