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US-based developer Husk Power Systems has secured funds from investors, which it will use to scale up its solar mini-grid developments in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Husk – which was established in 2008 – claimed its new Series D funding was “the largest-ever equity raise in the mini-grid industry”.

Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) has requested expressions of interest (EoI) for a project supervising engineer consultancy for the Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea Rural Electrification Project (CLSG-RE).

Production is set to increase in Africa’s two main uranium producers, Niger and Namibia, as market prices surge after a decade in the doldrums. The extra output comes largely from recommissioned mines, with the greenfield Dasa project facing delays following Niger’s coup.

Amid fresh speculation that it is eyeing up an entry into Mozambique’s Rovuma LNG project, Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation (Adnoc) looks set to become a more active participant in upstream projects in Africa, so long as natural gas is on the agenda.

The idea that electricity generated by wind and solar plants in Egypt could eventually be transported across the European continent to supply the UK’s national grid is far-fetched, but on the agenda.

Even before the new Middle East war shattered comfortable assumptions about regional security, the global economic climate remained hostile to many heavily-indebted and financially stressed governments, and to populations who have struggled to live with fallout from the pandemic and Ukraine war, which has included painful levels of inflation and costly currency volatility. African Energy offers a few pointers towards another difficult year ahead, as the IMF issues its annual appraisals of the global outlook and regional economic performance, and the Israel-Palestine conflict returns to centre stage in an increasingly polarised world.

Insurers focusing on energy sectors appear cautiously optimistic, despite many parts of Africa experiencing economic, political or security volatility. Some insurers are expanding into new sectors, such as transmission and C&I power plants, buoyed by high demand for what is often an unsung, but important element in project and financial structures, writes Marc Howard.

Few countries generate such strong opinions, for and against, as Rwanda, which is ruled with an iron fist by an apparently ageless President Paul Kagame. All but set for re-election again in August 2024, Kagame continues to make himself very useful to allies, acting as a regional policeman while also a player in his neighbours’ conflicts, while drawing in finance despite criticism of governance abuses, write Tonderayi Mukeredzi and African Energy staff .

Guinea’s military government has received a significant fillip as mining giant Rio Tinto and Chinese steelmaker Baowu made further commitments to the Simandou megaproject – in the process offering hope to Interim President Mamady Doumbouya that exports could eventually start from the long-stalled scheme, as his regime moves slowly on the promised transition back to democracy, write Marc Howard and Our Conakry Correspondent.

For Interim President Mamady Doumbouya, progress on the Simandou iron ore megaproject may show his transitional regime is capable of effective governance in Guinea, as he courts a range of international leaders –  as the colonel underlined by his attendance in New York at the late September United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) – and tries to control the calendar for political transition.

With an official access rate of around 70% in 2023, of which some 20% comes from off-grid solutions such as solar home system and mini-grids, Rwanda has made major strides towards electrification. African Energy takes a closer look at the country's energy mix and pipeline of power generation projects.

Revised in October 2023, this graphic combines power infrastructure maps of Rwanda and Burundi with data tables and graphics showing key economic indicators and demographics. The maps show the location of power generation facilities that are operating, under construction or planned, by type – including liquid fuels, methane, peat, solar PV, geothermal and biomass/biogas. Generation sites are marked with different sized circles to show sites of 1-9MW, 10-99MW and 100-499MW. Existing and future transmission and distribution lines are shown ranging from 70kV to 220kV. Actual and planned cross-border interconnectors are also shown including lines to Tanzania and Uganda.

Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)-listed Botala Energy has spudded the Serowe 3.3 well, the second of four wells being drilled to test for coal bed methane (CBM) at Serowe, in Botswana’s Central District.

The government has authorised Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) to expand the Gogo hydroelectric power (HEP) plant .

The issue leads with Guinea, where further commitments to the Simandou megaproject have offered hope to Interim President Mamady Doumbouya that exports could eventually start from the long-stalled scheme, as his regime moves slowly on the promised transition back to democracy. African Energy focuses on Rwanda, whose President Paul Kagame has perfected the art of making himself useful to allies, acting as a regional policeman while being a player in neighbouring conflicts. Kigali has drawn in a lot of finance despite criticism of governance abuses, while some question the extent of Rwanda’s ‘economic miracle’. African Energy also takes a look at the busy insurance sector, where companies active in African energy and other markets appear cautiously optimistic, despite economic, political and security volatility in many countries. Some firms are expanding into new areas, such as transmission and C&I, buoyed by high demand. Power coverage leads with Lesotho, which is making progress on renewable generation projects that officials say will allow the mountain kingdom to become self-sufficient and even eventually a net power exporter. African Energy examines the latest moves in Egypt's green energy transition with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development backing a $2bn transmission upgrade and Maersk choosing it for its first C2X green methanol venture. Upstream oil and gas coverage leads with a focus on the African ambitions of Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation (Adnoc), amid reports that it is looking to acquire a stake in the Rovuma Liquified Natural Gas (RLNG) in Mozambique. The African Energy View focuses on major economic trends outlined by the IMF/World Bank Group's latest World Economic Outlook and Regional Economic Outlook reports.