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Renewable power project developers could be among the main beneficiaries of outgoing US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, providing Washington uses the decision to unlock concessionary funding. However, many investors will remain wary of piling funds into oil and other projects while the UN-led decolonisation process remains in limbo, writes John Hamilton.

The UK’S Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP), part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on 11 December announced that it had signed an agreement to invest £1m ($1.3m) of equity in renewable-powered battery rental company Mobile Power. The investment was part of a £2m series A funding round.

CGG has signed an agreement with Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo and the Ministry of Hydrocarbons to acquire the industry’s first-ever multi-client airborne gravity and magnetic survey of the onshore Cuvette Basin. The government hopes to attract new investment following the Ngoki discovery last year.

As Sudan looks to improve ties with the West following its removal from the US State Sponsors of Terrorism list, China’s longstanding close ties with Khartoum are under pressure over unpaid debt owed to CNPC. In the context of China’s wider recalibration of its resource relationship with Africa, Sudan’s role is steadily diminishing, writes James Gavin.

Nigeria is proving to be a testing ground for trucking gas on African roads, while Circle Gas’s LPG-based cooking solution is building up a consumer base in Kenya and Tanzania. Africa remains a frontier market for ‘virtual pipelines’ and other innovative uses for gas, but business models are evolving to create some vibrant new industries, writes Jon Marks.

Mining companies are struggling to pay the interim power tariff of $0.093/kWh to Zesco, blaming higher taxation and a harsh operating environment. The tariff was introduced in 2018 while a cost of service study was carried out. But some miners are struggling to pay their bills despite a recent surge in world copper prices and want the power price to be set once the study is completed in 2021.

Mini-grid company CrossBoundary Energy Access (CBEA) has published a white paper on its model for developing mini-grids in developing countries and will release term sheets and its template project finance model on 15 February 2021. The unusual move comes as mini-grid developers focused on rural electrification continue to face challenges with profitability and attracting investment.

The 50MW first phase of a coal-fired power plant being built by independent power producer Zimbabwe Zhongxin Electrical Energy (ZZEE) at Deka Bridge Farm in Hwange is due for completion by year-end, a government minister has told African Energy. Energy and power development minister Soda Zhemu said construction of the $50m station started last year.

A French court has dismissed an appeal by two French and four Ugandan NGOs seeking to challenge Total’s handling of the Tilenga development project. The case is the first to be brought under France’s 2017 Corporate Duty of Vigilance law, and the NGOs hope to establish a precedent with wider implications for Total and other international companies.

The UK government has announced that it will no longer provide funding for fossil fuel projects overseas as it prepares to host the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow next year. The UK has been talking up plans for a green economy as the end of the Brexit transition period approaches, and funding from UK Export Finance (UKEF) for oil and gas projects has attracted criticism at a time when Prime Minister Boris Johnson is keen to position the UK as a global leader on climate change.

The United Kingdom’s Renewable Energy Performance Platform on 11 December announced that it had signed an agreement to invest £1m equity in renewable-powered battery rental company Mobile Power.

Globeleq on 10 December announced that Spain’s TSK has been selected to build the 450MW Temane combined cycle gas power plant.

Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (Tanesco) is set to launch a tender for an EPC contractor for the 50MW Malagarasi hydropower project in the western region of Kigoma after securing financing from the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Tender for Maria Gléta CCGT The Ministry of Energy has invited bids by 28 December for the next phase of the Maria Gléta thermal power complex. The tender involves the design, supply and construction of a 143MW dual-fuel combined-cycle thermal power plant.

The Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity has launched a two-stage tender for the selection of a private sector developer to build and operate under a long-term concession a 100MW-150MW hydropower station on the Nzilo 2 site on the Lualaba River.