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Solarcentury Africa’s financial close of the Gerus solar IPP – the Southern African Power Pool’s first pure merchant play in Namibia – will be followed by three more IPPs on the same model across the region. The milestone development points the way to a new mode of power project development provided utilities and regulators can keep up.

The developers of the 100MWp Lotsane solar PV plant have given African Energy an update on key project milestones. The plant, to be located near Palapye in the Central district of Botswana, is being developed by London-headquartered Solar Century Africa and Gaborone-based Energy and National Resource Corporation. It is the largest of several renewable independent power producer (IPP) projects advancing in the country.

Botswana has started to implement several solar, wind and battery IPP projects, ranging in size from 1MW to 100MW. It marks a shift away from a fossil fuel-dominated electricity system and reflects a determination to create surplus power, writes Tonderayi Mukeredzi.

Utility EDM is in advanced discussions with floating power plant provider Karpower for a new “up to 500MW” powership and floating regasification unit that would supply both domestic and regional Southern African Power Pool offtakers. The prospective development fits into EDM’s LNG-to-power plans, but questions remain over when feedstock from Mozambique’s onshore LNG megaprojects would be available, writes Marc Howard

A mini-boom in uranium mining is underway in Africa, with investors raising debt and equity finance to advance greenfield projects and mothballed mines being brought back online. The energy transition and geopolitical imperatives have created a more favourable environment for the nuclear power sector, but political risks are especially acute when it comes to uranium, as demonstrated by recent licence withdrawals in Niger, writes Marc Howard.

The Botala Energy-led Serowe Solar Consortium has won a tender to develop the 4MW Puthi Solar PV plant in the Serowe Energy Hub. Botala is also looking to develop solar/gas hybrid capacity using feedstock from its coal bed methane upstream project.

Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) is offering a three-year maintenance contract for the 132MW coal-fired power station. The deadline for bids is 12 July.

Canadian miner Lucara Diamond Corporation has concluded a feasibility study that paves the way for the construction of a utility-scale solar PV plant and battery storage energy system to supply power to its Karowe mine.

CFM’s appointment to manage the Southern African Power Pool ’s $1.3bn Regional Transmission Infrastructure Financing Facility could free up a decades-long blockage in the development of cross-border transmission infrastructure. How quickly this happens depends on the success of fundraising efforts in the coming months, and the willingness of utilities and finance ministries to make the RTIFF scheme work.

Solarcentury Africa plans to sell output domestically from its second merchant plant in Namibia, but the 60MWp SolNam solar PV project also supports SCA’s goal of becoming a leading trader in the Southern African Power Pool (Sapp) market.

LSE-listed Aterian is taking a controlling stake in Atlantis Metals, which holds exploration licences in Botswana’s highly prospective Kalahari Copperbelt and Makgadikgadi regions.

Miners have intensified uranium extraction and prospecting in Africa over the past two years as market prices surged after a decade of post-Fukushima lows.

Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed MMG is to acquire Khoemacau Copper Mining Company for $1.9bn. Khoemacau’s mine in the Kalahari Copper Belt has production capacity of 60,000 t/yr of copper and 1.6m oz/yr of silver metal.

Sekaname Proprietary and state utility Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) have signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the development of a pilot Sekaname coal bed methane (CBM) plant. Authorities in Botswana, which has been undertaking CBM prospecting for many years, see the commercial production of gas as a step towards the country transitioning from coal-dependent generation to a new energy mix that include gas, solar and wind.

Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)-listed Botala Energy has spudded the Serowe 3.3 well, the second of four wells being drilled to test for coal bed methane (CBM) at Serowe, in Botswana’s Central District.