Ilanga e.V.

Ilanga – Solar Power for Africa e.V.

Ilanga Sonnenkraft für Afrika is a German association that promotes photovoltaics in southern Africa. It was founded in 2020 by people associated with the tour operator Umfulana in Kürten. The name comes from the Zulu language and means “sun.”

We promote solar power systems in southern Africa – small, large, on remote farms or in villages and national parks.

Donate

Projects

Why we promote photovoltaics in Africa

Sun in Africa: The sun shines more intensely and reliably in Africa than in Germany. The differences between the seasons are small.
Power Supply: The power supply from the state energy provider is dilapidated. There are many power outages. Photovoltaics thus stabilizes the infrastructure.
CO₂ Balance: Electricity in Southern Africa is generated almost exclusively with coal. The CO₂ balance is extremely poor at approx. 1 ton of CO₂ per megawatt hour.
Infrastructure: Photovoltaics works in a decentralized structure and gives people in a country with weak infrastructure a piece of autonomy and freedom.

How the CO₂ savings are calculated

The yield of a photovoltaic system can be forecast quite accurately, and thus also the savings compared to the coal-fired power generation common today.

An example: A 5 kWp system produces approx. 8000 kWh per year depending on the location. In five years that is 40,000 kWh. According to a rough calculation based on the electricity mix common in South Africa, the system avoids a calculated amount of around 40 tons of CO₂ over five years. The actual savings depend on solar irradiation, grid utilisation and local use.

For every ton of CO₂ that the funded system is calculated to save in the first five years, the operator receives 15 euros. The system can then be subsidized with 600 euros. That is about 10 percent of the purchase price.

How we calculate the funding

The money for the funding comes from people who want to support climate protection with a voluntary contribution. For example, from you. Here is an example:

Flight: A return flight from Frankfurt to Cape Town causes around 3.1 tons of CO₂. These emissions actually occur and cannot be undone. With your voluntary donation you additionally support the expansion of photovoltaic systems in South Africa – as a contribution to the local energy transition, not as an offset for your personal travel emissions. As the basis for calculating your donation, we use 15 euros per ton that the funded system is calculated to save.
Donate: The full amount goes into the promotion of photovoltaic systems. Administrative costs (bank fees, etc.) are covered by membership fees.
GPS Coordinates: As soon as your donation has flowed into a solar system, you will receive a photo of the system and the GPS coordinates.
CO₂ Savings: This way you can see where your contribution went: in the first five years, the funded system is calculated to save the amount of CO₂ on which the funding is based.
Added Value: Since the system runs for at least 20 years, it is calculated to save at least four times as much CO₂ over its service life as the amount on which the funding is based.

How we protect ourselves from abuse

: The subsidy only flows after the system has been completed.
: The operators finance the system. We only provide a subsidy.
: The application for funding is made by the operator of the system, not the installation company.
: To do this, he must upload a declaration from the installation company and a declaration of truth.
: The operator assures that the system will not be subsidized a second time.
: After successful verification by our association, the funding goes directly to the operator's account.