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Ireland’s Mainstream Renewable Power (Mainstream) has announced that it has achieved financial close on its 97.5MW Free State solar PV project in South Africa. Power generated from the plant will supply Sasol and Air Liquide’s operations in Secunda, in Mpumalanga province.

Australian junior AVZ is fighting on several fronts to keep its Manono lithium project on track. Development has been delayed by disputes with AVZ’s own shareholders and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government. The Perth-headquartered junior has, however, received an ICC emergency ruling in its favour, writes François Misser.

As COP28 opens in Dubai, African Energy leads with an examination of climate finance, an area where the continent is being left behind as a result of poor infrastructure, weak governance and other issues. African Energy assesses the data and what needs to change if Africa is to hit its climate change targets. COP coverage continues with a look at the likely themes and opening moves, which included the inaugural $420m capitalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund and the leak of COP28 president Sultan Al-Jaber's briefing notes . African Energy takes a closer look at Somalia, which is edging back towards normality with membership of the East African Community and reported progress in tackling Al-Shabaab militants. Power coverage leads with Zambia, where state-owned utility Zesco is looking for a new renewable energy contractor, having put on hold a 2.4GW solar PV development with China’s CiEG, while the government has yet to implement its multilateral debt deal amid a lack of foreign currency and financing. African Energy also looks at eSwatini, which is working to increase the contribution of renewable energy to the energy mix and end years of dependence on imported electricity. The issue also examines the latest twist in the DRC’s Grand Inga saga, with the World Bank Group back in the game, more than seven years after it suspended funding for the first phase of the mega-scheme. Oil and gas coverage leads with a focuses on Mauritania and Senegal where the GTA and Sangomar projects are advancing after ship-related issues, while much-anticipated results from Shell’s wildcat well in Mauritania’s Block C10 have disappointed. There are also updates on Equatorial Guinea’s offshore, Angola's latest bid round and exploration in Namibia's Orange Basin. The African Energy View focuses on a return of currency crises, which are making it difficult for international firms to repatriate profits and causing projects to stall.  

Although Zambian consumers take up the bulk of locally-generated power, state utility Zesco is looking to maintain a ‘healthy’ relationship with external electricity buyers, which include Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo.

Golar LNG has been bullish in outlining its regional expectations for floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG), saying on 21 November that West Africa’s estimated 240tcf gas reserves and “proximity to all major demand centres” gave it a competitive advantage over other gas-exporting regions.

A series of increasingly high-profile and commercialised UN climate change summits has driven a global boom in climate finance, but Africa is being left behind as a result of poor infrastructure, weak governance and other issues. As discussions start at COP28 in Dubai, African Energy assesses the data and what needs to change if Africa is to hit its climate change targets.

State-owned utility Zesco is looking for a new renewable energy contractor, having put on hold a 2.4GW solar PV development with China’s CiEG. Work on other projects is continuing, but this is a difficult period for Zambia, which has still to implement its multilateral debt deal amid a lack of foreign currency and financing, writes Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Lusaka.

In a recent conversation, an independent power producer (IPP) told African Energy that its southern African utility client has been paying for its electricity “more or less on time”. The problem was those payments were being made in a local currency that cannot be exchanged as “the central bank has no money”. The IPP could turn to international arbitration to try and enforce its contract terms, “but what’s the use of that,” the executive asks, “when there’s nothing to be had?”

Kenya Electricity Generation Company (KenGen)’s plans to set up a Green Energy Park at its 800MW geothermal power generation hub at Olkaria in Naivasha county are gathering pace, with the state-owned firm issuing a call for proposals from local and international investors interested in leasing land and setting up operations at the site.

A solar PV and battery energy storage plant has been commissioned at Danzi, 18km north-west of the capital Bangui, according to the World Bank Group. The plant is a significant addition to CAR’s under-developed grid, which had a total of 49.65MW online prior to Danzi’s commissioning, according to African Energy Live Data. During the Danzi commissioning ceremony, President Faustin Archange Touadera lamented “the lack of investment over the past 40 years” in CAR’s electricity industry. The lack of interest among private and foreign investors is not surprising, given CAR’s long-running civil war and poor governance.

SolarAfrica has outlined to African Energy the latest timeframe for the first phase of its 1GW SunCentral solar PV wheeling project in South Africa's Northern Cape. The project is among the first private projects to be issued with an Eskom budget quote since the utility changed grid allocation rules and gave priority to shovel-ready generation projects under the Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP).

War-torn but entrepreneurial Somalia is edging back towards normality, at last securing membership of the East African Community and reporting some progress in tackling Al-Shabaab militants. The government also has longer-term ambitions to exploit ample renewable energy potential and offshore oil and gas resources, writes Dominic Dudley.

Kenya Electricity Generation Company (KenGen) has invited expressions of interest (EoIs) from consultancy firms to carry out detailed feasibility studies on setting up a plant to manufacture distribution transformers and motors.

The funding provided by the United Arab Emirates for the 3.5MW Bosaso solar plant is the latest element in a long engagement in the area by the Gulf power.

Portugal’s MCA Group has started the implementation of its €1.2bn ($1.3bn) rural electrification programme in Bié, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malange and Moxico provinces. The programme includes the installation of solar PV and battery capacity across 46 mini-grid sites and 12 grid-connected sites.