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Mining companies are planning to cut thousands of jobs in response to negative domestic and international factors, which could cause wider economic problems and difficulties for the government in the run-up to the late May general election. Critical minerals offer huge potential, but structural constraints weigh heavy on investors.

Revised in March 2024, this map provides a detailed view of the power sector in Tanzania. The locations of power generation facilities that are operating, under construction or planned are shown by type – including liquid fuels, gas and liquid fuels, natural gas, coal, geothermal, hydroelectricity, solar PV, wind and biomass/biogas. Generation sites are marked with different sized circles to show sites of 1-9MW, 10-99MW, 100-499MW and 500MW and above. Existing and future transmission and distribution lines are shown ranging from 33kV to 400kV. Actual and planned cross-border interconnectors are also shown including lines to Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. An inset also illustrates Tanzania's future regional  interconnections. Three small pie charts show installed capacity by fuel, and the percentage of capacity which is on-grid and state-owned. Power generation data was drawn from our African Energy Live Data platform, which contains project level detail on power plants and projects across Africa. The map also shows the location of Tanzania's offshore gas fields and other hydrocarbons infrastructure including pipelines and proposed LNG facilities. The map is presented as a PDF file using eps graphics, meaning that there is no loss of resolution as the file is enlarged.

The authorities have offered development support to an initial ten independent power producer schemes, in a policy shift designed to enhance the bankability of IPP projects and encourage more private sector players to contribute to Zimbabwe’s faltering electricity generation infrastructure. African Energy examines the new scheme and looks at the state of power generation throughout a country where peak demand outstrips available supply – a situation that has lately been worsened by declining water levels at the Kariba Dam.

A drought has sharply reduced electricity generation in Zambia, prompting state-owned power utility Zesco to start rationing electricity. An eight-hour daily electricity rationing programme started on 11 March, in response to a reduced level of generation from Zesco’s drought hit hydroelectric power (HEP) plants.

With lithium output rising, the Zimbabwe government is pushing mining companies to carry out more local processing and value additions, as the Mnangagwa administration seeks to maximise the benefits of a new minerals extraction boom driven by Chinese demand.

London AIM-listed Chariot has confirmed that a feasibility study for the 10GW Project Nour green hydrogen (GH2) project had been completed and handed to the Mauritanian government.  Chariot and project partner TotalEnergies are planning a phased development. The Mauritanian government has signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) for several other large GH2 projects as it aims to be “the largest producer and exporter of hydrogen on the African continent.”

Following a recent maritime defence agreement, Ankara has further increased its commitment to Somalia by signing an intergovernmental agreement covering offshore oil and gas exploration as Türkiye makes further inroads into the region.

First exported in 1964 from a then Royal Dutch/Shell project in Algerian hub Arzew, liquefied natural gas (LNG) was sometimes thought a marginal product during oil’s heyday. But over the past two decades it has come to be seen as an increasingly important energy transition fuel; its consumption produces around half the CO2 emissions of coal.

A planned $187m financing deal between London AIM-listed San Leon Energy and Tri Ri Asset Management has foundered, with the New York-based finance house blaming regulatory and compliance problems.

Having reached financial close on its three Koruson II projects, Anglo American/EDF JV Envusa Energy expects to start construction in H1 2024, to install combined wind and solar capacity of 520MW in South Africa’s Northern Cape.

The 2.4m t/yr first phase of the cross-border Mauritania/Senegal Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas development has once again been delayed. Kosmos chief executive Andrew Inglis said the latest setback stemmed from GTA’s floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel requiring further repairs in Tenerife, following damage incurred during its journey from Qidong, China.

Chinese firm Shanxi Construction is to develop a rare Eritrean utility-scale project, funded by the African Development Bank’s first energy investment in the country.

As Djibouti wakes up to the potential of geothermal and wind, and looks to the P2X potential of green hydrogen, its small and fossil-fuel dependent power sector could be on the brink of major change. An update of planned generation projects by African Energy Live Data identifies the most important plants and raises questions about how the government’s ambitious net zero ambitions can be achieved, write Camilla Nytun and John Hamilton.

The issue leads with a focus on African gas, with slow progress at some of sub-Saharan Africa’s most high-profile LNG developments coming as exporters from other parts of the world race to sign new long-term deals with buyers from Asia and Europe. African Energy's coverage includes a new map of African gas projects and a closer look at the fortunes of North Africa's gas producers. African Energy also focuses on Niger where crude is now flowing through the Niger-Benin Export Pipeline, amid signs that Niamey is emerging from post-coup isolation and has mended ties with Ecowas and the US. Power coverage leads with Tanzania, where the first unit of the Julius Nyerere hydroelectric power project has been commissioned but grid questions linger. African Energy examines a new scheme in Zimbabwe to offer  bankability support to IPPs and looks at how drought has forced Zambian state-owned power utility Zesco to start rationing electricity  to Zambia and Zimbabwe. African Energy also takes a closer look at Djibouti, which is waking up to the domestic generation potential of geothermal and wind power, while also eyeing up the P2X possibilities of green hydrogen production. Analysis of projects tracked by African Energy Live Data raises questions about how the government’s net zero ambitions can be achieved. Oil and gas coverage includes an examination of how wealthy Gulf national oil companies are actively seeking potentially highly lucrative lower-carbon expansion opportunities across Africa. Transition minerals coverage leads with Zimbabwe, which is aiming to consolidate its position as a leading lithium producer. President Emerson Mnangagwa’s administration is pushing miners to invest in local processing and has threatened to levy export duties on those who fail to add value. Critics, meanwhile, are calling for more transparency in how the industry is run. African Energy also looks at Mauritania, where Chariot and TotalEnergies have completed a 10GW green hydrogen feasibility study. The African Energy View focuses on African leaders' plans for major changes to the global financial and political architecture.

The $2.9bn Julius Nyerere dam’s first 235MW turbine has started dispatching power, and a second unit is expected online very soon, as the much-delayed 2.1GW megaproject starts to fulfil its potential to supply national and regional demand – provided long-standing questions around the transmission infrastructure can be overcome, writes Marc Howard.