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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.

Malagasy conglomerate Groupe Filatex has confirmed that the 30MW Mandroseza heavy fuel oil (HFO)-fired plant has resumed operations following rehabilitation work. Construction of solar PV capacity is also under way at the complex.

Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto extended its agreement for the QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) ilmenite mine on 22 August, signing a deal with the Madagascar government on revised terms.

Madagascar’s Ministry of Energy and Hydrocarbons (MEH) has issued invitations to tender for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work at two solar PV concessions.

Toronto Stock Exchange-listed developer NextSource Materials has confirmed that the solar-hybrid-storage development for its Molo graphite project in Madagascar has been completed. Nairobi-headquartered CrossBoundary Energy developed the solar/diesel hybrid plant, which also includes battery energy storage capacity.

Madagascar’s pivot to renewable energy is gathering steam, with hydropower capacity set to triple and on-grid solar to double by the end of the decade. The displacement of expensive and polluting thermal capacity should help to rebalance the economy and expand electricity access rates which are among the world’s lowest, writes Marc Howard.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimates that 69% of Madagascar’s population live in ‘multidimensional poverty’, a metric that uses ten health, education and standard of living indicators. The UNDP categorises 55.6% of the population (around 30m people) as living in ‘monetary poverty’, with income below $1.90/day at 2011 prices.

CrossBoundary Energy’s 8MWp solar PV installation is now dispatching power to Rio Tinto’s QIT Madagascar Minerals ilmenite facility in Taolagnaro, the Nairobi-headquartered developer told African Energy, while the project’s 8.2MWh battery energy storage system is also in the final stages of commissioning.

China has agreed to extend a $240m preferential loan to Madagascar to finance construction of the Ranomafana hydroelectric power (HEP) plant on the Ikopa River in Anamalanga, roughly 115 north-west of Antananarivo.

London Stock Exchange (LSE)-listed Tirupati Graphite said on 3 April that it had completed the acquisition of Suni Resources, the Mozambican subsidiary of Australia Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed Battery Minerals.

The first 2.4MWp phase of the Diego solar PV plant in Antsiranana has been completed, according to the local Group Filatex.

Tirupati Graphite has commissioned the 18,000 t/yr flake graphite production facility at its Sahamamy project in Madagascar.

Toronto Stock Exchange-listed NextSource Materials said on 21 February that it was approaching first production at its Molo graphite project, having completed the processing plant.

Analysis of the African Energy Live Data platform shows installed electricity generation capacity in East Africa is set to be boosted by nearly 15GW, as mega-hydroelectric projects finally come to fruition and renewables gain pace over the next five years. The project pipeline could grow even more quickly if the ambitious goals set out by Kenya and other governments are achieved.

African Energy understands that a shortage of finance is hampering the progress of two solar PV plants that form part of a national programme to hybridise existing heavy fuel oil (HFO) plants, reduce emissions and increase energy security through grid diversification.