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The Red Sea Power (RSP) Ghoubet wind plant has been commissioned. The $122m project is Djibouti’s first utility-scale independent power producer (IPP) and its first on-grid renewable energy plant. African Energy takes a look at the potential impact of the plant, which represents the first steps towards achieving the government’s energy transition goals.

Expressions of interest (EoI) have been requested by the Ministry of Energy for consultancy services to prepare a 40MW wind plant, following a general procurement notice.

Washington has added to its support for the Lobito Corridor by backing a new spur to north-western Zambia. With Brussels now also on board, western efforts to counter Chinese influence over critical minerals are gathering pace.

All of Kenyan President William Ruto’s personal energy, facility with words, public charm and ruthless cultivation of influential allies was on show at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, with a very hands-on performance as host of the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) on 4-6 September.

Climate change – closely linked to the intractable issues of poverty and inequality – is an issue preoccupying policy-makers around the world, but its impacts are particularly acute across swathes of Africa. But while calls for swifter action to unlock larger amounts of financing were paramount at the inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS), held in Nairobi on 4-6 September, it was also apparent that views differ widely on how to address the challenge.

Shell and TotalEnergies are preparing appraisal drilling campaigns in Namibia as the country continues its progress towards becoming a global production hotspot.

 Guinea has substantial reserves of bauxite, the world’s main source of aluminium, yet lags far behind in turning bauxite into alumina. African Energy understands two new refinery projects are under development –  final investment decisions are expected within two years – that will require hundreds of megawatts of power generation capacity.

The long-awaited signing of the Simandou iron ore development infrastructure agreement is a watershed moment for Conakry, which has also set in motion ambitious plans for domestic alumina processing. Both industries will require significant investment in gigawatts of energy and power capacity, write Marc Howard and a Special Correspondent in Conakry.

Published in September 2023, this map provides a detailed view of the power sector in Guinea and also shows the location of major mining industry sites. The locations of power generation facilities that are operating, under construction or planned are shown by type – including liquid fuels, hybrid, hydroelectricity and solar PV. Generation sites are marked with different sized circles to show sites of 1-9MW, 10-99MW, 100-499MW and 500MW and above. Existing and future transmission and distribution lines are shown ranging from 50kV to 225kV. Actual and planned cross-border interconnectors are also shown including lines to Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

Once fully commissioned, the nameplate 650,000 b/d Dangote refinery complex is expected to transform the downstream sector in West Africa, but other major refinery projects are also under way in Angola and Ghana, writes James Gavin.

President Tinubu aims to double Nigeria’s crude output by 2027, but while a series of oil and gas projects are moving forward – and should arrest the slide in production of recent years – analysts suggest the new government may find it is being overly-ambitious, writes James Gavin.

Initial projections from the African Union’s Continental Power System Master Plan show what an interconnected power market might look like, driven predominantly by renewable energy – but the plan also sets out in stark relief the vast gap between current levels of supply and what is needed for universal electricity access to help raise economies out of poverty, write John Hamilton and Jon Marks in Nairobi.

In a potentially radical development for Burundi, Nairobi-based Virunga Power on 6 September launched Weza Power, a new private utility which plans to connect 9m people over the next seven years. Structured as a public private/partnership (PPP), energy minister Ibrahim Uwizeye said Weza would help one of the world’s poorest nations to achieve its goal of becoming an emerging economy by 2040.

Revised in September 2023, this map provides a detailed view of the power sector in Zimbabwe. 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, coal bed methane, hybrid, hydroelectricity, solar PV 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. Existing and future transmission and distribution lines are shown ranging from 132kV to 400kV. Actual and planned cross-border interconnectors are also shown including lines to Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia. 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 abrupt end to the Bongo family’s decades-long rule seems to have caused barely a ripple among Gabon’s international and commercial partners – in contrast to the impact of the spate of coups d’état further north – as General Brice Oligui Nguema’s takeover is seen as an inside job that is generally supported across the population. While Gabon’s elite jockeys for position, the critical oil sector appears to have been largely unaffected – for now.