Search results

Kenya has put in place a green hydrogen framework giving impetus to a growing number of private sector projects that could drive capital-intensive post-carbon industries. African Energy rounds up the renewable energy-driven projects that are making the running in Kenya’s early-stage GH2 economy.

Milele Energy – part-owner of the Lake Turkana wind farm – has been hiring as the Nairobi-headquartered IPP developer it prepares to expand its African project portfolio.

Revised March 2024, this map provides a detailed view of energy infrastructure across Kenya. The locations of power generation facilities that are operating, under construction or planned are shown by type – including liquid fuels, gas and liquid fuels, coal, geothermal, hybrid, hydroelectricity, solar PV, wind and biomass/biogas. Generation sites are marked with different sized circles to show sites of 3-9MW, 10-99MW, 100-499MW and 500MW and above. Existing and future transmission and distribution lines are shown ranging from 132kV to 500kV. Actual and planned cross-border interconnectors are also shown including lines to Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda. The map also shows the location of the South Lokichar oil fields and planned and existing oil and gas infrastructure including pipelines, gas processing plants and tanker terminals. Power generation data was drawn from our African Energy Live Data platform, which contains project level detail on power plants and projects across Africa. The map is presented as a PDF file using eps graphics, meaning that there is no loss of resolution as the file is enlarged.

The seven memoranda of understanding signed by the Egyptian government on 28 February show new tax incentives are attracting interest. The MoUs add a number of substantial names to the roster of companies planning green hydrogen schemes, but less well-known names and local players are also on the list of those speculating on Egypt’s GH2 potential.

The sale by Denmark’s Investment Fund for Developing Countries of a minority stake in the successful Lake Turkana IPP to a fund managed by BlackRock shows big institutional investors can be attracted to sub-Saharan renewables – and the returns that can be made by those willing to shoulder early-stage risks.

Weighed down by financial and geopolitical risks, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s administration continues to push its green hydrogen (GH2) agenda - including the signing of seven new agreements. It is a risky proposition but, if schemes can be proved bankable, tens of billions of dollars of investment could transform Egypt’s economic prospects. John Hamilton looks at who is involved and where GH2 megaprojects have got to so far.

For Egypt, the development of green hydrogen production capacity is not just an interesting economic sideline that has emerged out of the global push to achieve net-zero, but a potential lifeline for the economy. Officials have put in place a governance infrastructure and fiscal incentives in the hope of making the most of the GH2 opening.

Sasol South Africa and Air Liquide have signed a third power purchase agreement (PPA) with Enel Green Power RSA for wind power supply to their site in Mpumalanga province.

A first cargo of liquefied natural gas has left the Litchendjili LNG terminal in Pointe-Noire, following a rapid development by Eni and national oil company SNPC.

Interim President Colonel Mamady Doumbouya used a television broadcast to sack Prime Minister Bernard Gomou, accusing his government of corruption, and has since sought to court some opposition factions – in a process confirmed with Mamadou Oury Bah’s appointment as PM – but pressures are mounting from opposition politicians, trade unions and other angry stakeholders.

Solargen has commissioned a solar and battery energy storage system, bringing electricity to Uganda’s Bussi Island on Lake Victoria for the first time.

Nairobi-headquartered developer Equator Energy has commissioned a 0.75MWp grid-tied solar PV plant for Nandi Tea Estates (NTE)’s factory in Nandi County, 300km north-west of Nairobi.

Lotus Resources’ fundraising will help the Australian miner to restart the Kayelekera mine in Malawi, where negotiations for a power purchase agreement and grid connection with Escom continue.

UAE-owned Guinea Alumina Corporation’s 1m t/yr bauxite refining project is in addition to the similar-sized alumina refinery already planned by Société Minière de Boké in partnership with Alteo. Coming after Conakry demanded bauxite miners develop local value-adding facilities, these developments could add gigawatts to electricity demand and may require significant LNG imports.

New Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is a Swapo veteran who is favourite to become Namibia’s first female president after elections are held in November, but who faces challenges, not least from within the ruling party. African Energy also gives an assessment of the man she hopes to ultimately to succeed, Namibia’s President Hage Geingob, who died on 4 February after a battle with cancer.