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On 25 May, Niger’s Ministry of Energy and Renewable Energies (known by its French acronym Meer) said the 1.7MW Dirkou solar-diesel hybrid power plant, with 2.8MWh of battery storage, had been commissioned.

The timing of the official commissioning of the 650,000 b/d Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Plant on 22 May said as much about local political sensitivities as it did about the facility’s undoubted importance for the Nigerian energy sector.

Establishing a reliable financial framework for building cross-border power interconnections may be the single most effective way to improve electrification across sub-Saharan Africa. Yet bureaucratic impediments are holding up progress at an important scheme, the Southern Africa Power Pool (Sapp)’s Regional Transmission Infrastructure Financing Facility (RTIFF), which could implement its first projects in two to three years – with the right support.

The 100MW Sirakoro heavy fuel oil (HFO) plant has been connected to Energie du Mali (EdM)’s grid, according to Lebanese engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor Matelec.

CrossBoundary Energy has confirmed to African Energy the expected commissioning date for its 11.25MWp solar PV and 8.5MW/MWh battery energy storage facility to supply Syrah Resources’ Twigg/Balama graphite project in Mozambique.

High inflation and a global energy crisis are forcing a rethink on how the world might make the transition from hydrocarbons to renewable energy. Until recently, rich-world policy-makers and think tanks had been pushing to electrify global energy demand as quickly as possible and in many parts of the world a de facto moratorium on new hydrocarbon projects had taken hold. But reports of the demise of gas have been greatly exaggerated.

Despite calls from some governments for sub-Saharan Africa to use its natural gas resources and build more gas-to-power plants, it is hydroelectric power that will drive the biggest growth in electricity generation in the region over the next five years, according to analysis of African Energy Live Data’s project pipeline to 2027.

One of the most familiar – and well liked – faces on the African power development scene over many years of significant achievement coupled with good humour in the face of adversity, Bob Chestnutt has died after a sudden illness.

As Bola Ahmed Tinubu prepares for his scheduled 29 May inauguration, Africa Confidential and African Energy are co-hosting a high-level panel on continuity, change, energy strategy and the policy mix in Nigeria on 18 April, during the AIX Energy in Transition event in London.

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.

London AIM-listed Helium One Global said on 6 April that it and Australia Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed Noble Helium had signed a letter of intent with Tunisia’s Société de Forage (Sofori) to use the Drillmec HH102 rig for its Rukwa drilling campaign.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has asked for expressions of interest (EoI) for consultancy services to support a Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (Sefa) Africa Mini-Grid Acceleration Programme (Amap) project to speed up the development of solar/hydroelectric power mini-grids in Cameroon.

A 600kW gas-fired power plant developed by Genesis Energy has started operating at the Malian Cashew Corporation’s factory in Diatoula, south of the capital Bamako.

Chadian developer ZIZ Energie has confirmed to African Energy the dates it expects its solar PV mini-grids in Ati and Moussoro to come online. The two projects have faced numerous delays due to supply constraints and financing issues.

Competition among international powers over access to critical raw minerals was intense even before Russia’s President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But the conflict has focused minds even more sharply in the United States and European Union over the ground they have ceded to China in relation to rare earth minerals and other essential supplies.