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London AIM-listed Chariot is carrying out a strategic review of its Transitional Power division, which could lead to the sale of its stakes in four renewable energy projects, as well as its shareholding in South African electricity trader Etana Energy.

French developer GreenYellow has agreed to sell its stakes in solar PV and hybrid power plants in Madagascar and Burkina Faso to Antananarivo-based conglomerate Axian Group.

Russia has strongly backed the anti-western, populist regimes in Mali and Burkina Faso through its mercenary Wagner Group, which has also established itself as a force in Central African Republic (CAR) and Sudan.

Gulf governments have proved among President Vladimir Putin’s most enthusiastic friends, undermining western efforts to isolate Moscow in a relationship that goes beyond energy and business links. With the mercenary Wagner Group active across the Sahel, several dozen cargo flights between Abu Dhabi and a remote air strip in eastern Chad have provoked renewed speculation about the UAE’s ties with Moscow and its proxies, Gulf States Newsletter staff* report.

While inflation and supply chain challenges have slowed the progress of many renewable projects, Amea Power has continued to expand its portfolio of solar and wind projects, with some 1.1GW of capacity operational or under construction, and a further 6GW under development. And it has big ambitions for green hydrogen and ammonia, the Dubai-based developer told Marc Howard.

Amea Power executive chairman and founder Hussain Al-Nowais in late February provided a detailed insight into 11 of the Dubai-based developer’s projects under development in African markets.

Bamako-headquartered SolarX said on 1 March it had signed 15-year deals with Orange Côte d’Ivoire to install approximately 1MWp of aggregated solar PV capacity at two of its data centres, in Yamoussoukro in Côte d’Ivoire (CdI) and Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. African Energy spoke to SolarX chief executive Karim Ghammache.

A realignment of global alliances is ever more apparent as the first anniversary of Russia’s attempted conquest of Ukraine approaches and global power and wealth seem to concentrate in ever fewer hands. This has been seen in the solidarity among members of the Opec+ oil exporters’ alliance, in which long western-aligned Saudi Arabia and President Vladimir Putin’s Russia remain the driving forces.

State utility Société Nationale d’Electricité du Burkina Faso (Sonabel) has failed to reach an agreement with the project contractor over “cost over-runs” for the 10MW Kaya and 20MW Koudougou solar PV projects, according to a World Bank Group (WBG) project implementation status report dated 1 June.

Global Alliance for People and Planet and the Norwegian government have pledged more funding to support the development of solar power in Sahel countries.

Increased jihadist activity has displaced populations and affected business across the region, as armed groups seek to generate income by attacking mines and other revenue generators. The failure of the Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba regime in Burkina Faso to protect artisanal gold miners in the north was one of many security concerns that served as a pretext for his overthrow; mines are being attacked by the same insurgent groups in Mali.

The Sahel region’s multi-faceted crises have deepened further with junior officers replacing their seniors in Burkina Faso’s latest coup d’état, a move which now threatens sanctions and other retaliation from Ecowas states, increases diplomatic tensions with western governments – while Russia helps to fan the flames – and undermines business initiatives and efforts to make economies more sustainable. African Energy analyses the latest developments in Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea and Mali, along with their G5 Sahel partner Niger and other big stakeholders in the region.

Construction work on the four Yeleen solar projects, which began in Q3 2021, should be completed in 2024, according to a project report by the African Development Bank.

The 30MW Nagréongo solar PV plant has been commissioned. The Dutch-financed plant is in Oubritenga province, to the north-east of the capital Ouagadougou.

Brave efforts are being made to continue with business as usual in the Sahel, despite an apparently never-ending security crisis, which has been further aggravated by a split in the western-backed G5 Sahel (G5S) alliance of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, as the military-led regime in Bamako seeks to distance itself from France and its allies.