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The appointment of a younger generation executive who has spent his career in senior roles within TotalEnergies to run the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy is an indication of intent to advance a substantial pipeline of delayed and expensive projects, but to succeed Tarik Moufaddal will need to add political nous to his corporate abilities, writes Waly Dione Faye in Casablanca.

Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi has invited bids from contractors to develop a 20MW battery energy storage system (Bess) at Lilongwe’s Kanengo substation. The Bess project is aimed at stabilising the grid by integrating more variable renewable energy (RE) sources.

Revised in July 2024, this map provides a detailed view of the power sector in Mozambique. The locations of power generation facilities that are operating, under construction or planned are shown by type – including liquid fuels, natural gas, coal, hydroelectricity, solar, wind and biomass/biogas. Generation sites are marked with different sized circles to show sites of 1-9MW, 10-99MW, 100-499MW and 500MW and above. Projects including battery energy storage are shown, as are key substations. Existing and future transmission and distribution lines are shown ranging from 66kV to 500kV+. Actual and planned cross-border interconnectors are also shown including lines to Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Two insets provide greater detail of the regions around Chimoio and Maputo. Two small pie charts show total installed capacity by fuel in 2023 and 2024. 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.  

After launching a national green hydrogen (GH2) strategy in late 2023, Tunisia has signed memoranda of understanding with international partners for two large GH2 projects aimed squarely at the European export market, writes Dominic Dudley.

State utility EDM has signed a deal with the UK’s Gridworks to develop Mozambique’s first independent power transmission project to connect the central and northern regions without inflating sovereign borrowing.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) registered a further 105 power generation projects with a combined capacity of 788MW between January and March this year, lifting the overall number of projects to 1,415 since the registration process began in 2018, with total capacity reaching 7.2GW.

The issue leads with Morocco where state agencies have new leadership, but Onee’s Tarik Hamane and Masen’s Tarik Moufaddal, their political masters and the wider electricity supply industry have big barriers to overcome if the country is to fulfil its much-vaunted renewable energy potential. African Energy’s coverage includes an updated Morocco power map. Power coverage includes an update on Nigeria, where another grid collapse in early June underscored the perilous state of the electricity supply industry. The 2023 Electricity Act, the recent creation of an unbundled independent system operator and other reforms from President Tinubu’s government may augur for better days ahead. African Energy takes a look at Senegal's power sector.  Informed sources have told African Energy that West African Energy’s gas-to-power plant is expected to be commissioned around the turn of the year. Questions remain over when the natural gas feedstock will be available and whether the new Pastef administration may reassess details of the directly-awarded contract. The issue also focuses on the signing of a deal to develop Mozambique’s first independent power transmission project, which will connect the central and northern regions. African Energy also examines Tunisia's move to join the North African green hydrogen bandwagon, with the signing of MoUs for two initial schemes. Oil and gas coverage leads with a closer look at Nigeria’s new 19-block licensing round, which aims to attract both local and international interest to what is mostly offshore acreage. The African Energy View focuses on Algeria, where Present Tebboune is aiming for a second term – with elections due early September – and a solar PV procurement programme could be a bellwether of change.

Revised in June 2024, this map provides a detailed view of the power sector in Morocco. The locations of power generation facilities that are operating, under construction or planned are shown by type – including liquid fuels, natural gas, coal, hybrid, hydroelectricity, solar (PV and CSP), wind,  biomass/biogas and battery. Generation sites are marked with different sized circles to show sites of 3-9MW, 10-99MW, 100-999MW and 1,000MW and above. Existing and future transmission and distribution lines are shown ranging from 60kV to 400kV. Actual and planned cross-border interconnectors are also shown including lines to Algeria and Spain. An inset shows projects in the disputed Western Sahara region 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.  

London AIM-listed Chariot Energy has made a natural gas discovery at the second well in its maiden onshore drilling campaign in Morocco, following disappointing results at the first well.

NamPower has started the execution phase of its pioneering Otjikoto project, which will use an invasive shrub as fuel in Namibia’s largest biomass plant and could set a precedent for greater use of the renewable technology.

Politics are entering uncharted waters after the African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority in South Africa’s 29 May general election, leaving the governing party to embark on uncomfortable national coalition-building and some very spiky provincial deal-making. Many grassroots ANC members would prefer a return to more radical roots via deals with Julius Malema’s EFF or ex-president Zuma’s MK Party, but others are hoping President Ramaphosa can secure a stable alliance that promotes economic stability with the Democratic Alliance. Failed coalition-building would lead to another election, in which the ANC might not do better a second time around.

State agencies have new leadership, but Onee’s Tarik Hamane and Masen’s Tarik Moufaddal, their political masters and the wider electricity supply industry have big barriers to overcome if Morocco is to fulfil its much-vaunted renewable energy potential and provide a stable base for the next phases of the kingdom’s economic take-off, write John Hamilton and a Special Correspondent in Rabat.

Nigeria Stock Exchange (NGX)-listed conglomerate Transcorp Group’s two generating company subsidiaries already provide some 20% of Nigeria’s grid capacity. Now one of them, Transafam Power, is looking to increase output by 35% at many of its units while the other, Transcorp Power, is eyeing up a possible utility-scale solar plant.