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Local conglomerate PFO Africa has signed a PPA for Côte d’Ivoire’s largest-ever solar development, near the northern city of Ferkessédougou.

The World Bank Group has approved a $202m finance facility to help address grid constraints and enable regional interconnections – opening the way for a doubling of hydropower imports from Ethiopia – under the second phase of its ten-year green energy programme for Kenya.

The British government’s indefinite postponement of the UK Africa Investment Summit from April suggests the Sunak administration’s domestic political calculations are now trumping strategic thinking on international relationships.  

Rio Tinto’s MoU with Kigali to explore and mine lithium signals the continued interest of mining majors in African transition minerals.

Australian junior Globe says it is advancing its project to site a niobium refinery in the Malawian capital and has outlined an ambitious plan to power mining and refining operations with renewable energy.

Commercial operations for the $127m Mozambique-Malawi (Moma) transmission interconnection project has been delayed, a source with knowledge of the project told African Energy. The delay to the Moma link into the Southern Africa Power Pool comes after a previous hold-up from demining complications, while other milestones remain to be met for the long-awaited regional interconnection scheme.

South Africa’s EPCM Holdings has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a 10,000m3 diesel storage facility at the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in Lualaba province. Kamoa-Kakula is one of the world’s top ten copper projects in terms of annual production.

Construction is expected to restart in mid-2024 at Mozambique LNG, with a revived financing package expected to be put in place after nearly three years of force majeure, and as the adjacent Rovuma LNG project is also resuming work.

KenGen has requested consultants to provide project management and supervisory services for the 42.5MWac Seven Forks solar PV development.

The United Kingdom is guaranteeing an African Development Bank loan whose funds will be used to further improve Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco)’s network and increase the deployment of renewable energy.

The issue leads with a focus on the Sahel, where the strongmen in charge of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger plan to quit the regional Ecowas bloc, as Russia further enhances its military/business relationship with the Sahel troika and Central African Republic. African Energy examines how the shifting political sands mean the largely western-funded PV boom in the Sahel is unlikely to be repeated. The issue also includes a look at how Nigerien oil production could increase fivefold as a result of the Niger-Benin Export Pipeline, which is expected soon to ship its first cargo from the Sèmè-Kraké terminal. African Energy takes closer look at Comoros, where newly re-elected President Azali Assoumani’s nearly 25 years in power has weighed on Comoros’ development, with analysts reporting corruption has been on the rise. Oil and gas coverage includes a look at onshore block awards in Angola and a closer examination of Uganda's decision to appoint Alpha MBM Investments – a company connected to a junior member of Dubai’s ruling family – as the preferred bidder for a much- delayed $4bn, 60,000 b/d refinery in Hoima. The UAE continues to push its diplomatic and commercial credentials around sub- Saharan Africa, forging deals for everything from gold to carbon credits, electricity generation and arms. The issue includes the launch of a new Risk Management Report (RMR) series intended to provide updates, analysis and context on key political, social, economic and energy trends across the continent. The initial report is focused on  Côte d’Ivoire, which is also the subject of this issue's African Energy View.

The ten largest renewable energy additions to African grids in 2024 fall into four distinct groups: Ethiopian hydro, other sub-Saharan African hydro, and wind and solar projects in North Africa and South Africa. African Energy has assessed the projects and whether or not they will be built in time.

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.

The strongmen in charge of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger plan to quit the regional Ecowas bloc, as Russia further enhances its military/business relationship with the Sahel troika and Central African Republic. While Niger believes its oil production could increase fivefold as its export pipeline to Benin starts up, and the Sahel states made significant progress in developing solar generation capacity in 2023, shifting political sands mean the largely western-funded PV boom is unlikely to be repeated, and the focus of China and others on resources plays leaves a big gap in international support for other sectors, writes Marc Howard.

An oversubscribed Eurobond issue in January indicated that Côte d’Ivoire’s strong economic performance – including 6.5% GDP growth, big infrastructure investments and Eni’s major Baleine oil and gas field – has been enough to allay investors’ concerns over the presidential succession and wider regional instability. These issues feature in the first of African Energy’s new series of Risk Management Reports (RMRs), which will provide updates, analysis and context on key political, social, economic and energy trends in countries across the continent. In line with the model established by African Energy’s sister publication Gulf States Newsletter (GSN), a ‘risk grade’ (explained below) is assigned to each country. A full list of African risk grades will follow soon.