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KenGen has opted to raise the Masinga hydroelectric power dam’s spillway, rather than a bigger planned project to increase the size of the entire dam wall, following French-financed studies

Kenya Electricity Generating Company and Akiira Geothermal are planning the co-development of several new geothermal projects in KenGen’s first joint venture deal with an independent power producer (IPP), company officials told African Energy – and other IPP deals could follow for the state generation company.

Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has contracted Italian specialist Steam to conduct tests and set up a facility for extracting minerals such as silica and lithium from geothermal fluids, in a revenue diversification bid.

Kenyan elections always raise tensions and, sometimes, expectations – and opinion polls point to a close race for the presidency, in an important and tightly contested election in early August. The candidates’ energy policies look similar on paper, but investors expect very different approaches to emerge.

Progress in Kenya's energy sector has been mixed under President Uhuru Kenyatta. His successor will inherit an electricity supply industry (ESI) lacking strong unifying leadership at troubled utility Kenya Power – which is part-way through a turnaround – and at the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), as well as strained relations with many private investors. Other items in the next government’s in-tray will be the long-delayed auctions for renewable energy (RE) projects, as well as power market deregulation and implementation of the net-metering policy.

Industry actors in the Kenyan oil and gas sector are adopting a wait-and-see approach towards the 9 August presidential election, with many anticipating a change in regime following the vote.

More than four years after a signing a power purchase agreement (PPA), the backers of the Kopere solar PV plant in Nandi County are still waiting for the government to provide the letter of support required so the project can move on to the construction phase.

Dutch development finance institution FMO has signed a $15m senior loan for African and India-focused off-grid provider D.Light Design, with $5m from the Building Prospects envelope and a $10m FMO-A loan. The majority of the loan is denominated in local currency, comprising Nigerian naira and Kenyan shillings.

Kenya’s Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (Eacc) is investigating a number of executives at Kenya Power and Lighting Company (Kenya Power) for alleged corruption.

Mini-grid financing facility CrossBoundary Energy Access has raised a $25m senior debt facility. CrossBoundary is looking to raise $150m in total to finance a portfolio of mini-grids primarily in Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia.

The Ugandan government has signed an agreement with Gridworks that will see the British government-owned developer and financier provide up to $90m of equity funding to upgrade four key substations. A key goal of the upgrades is to increase the grid’s ability to supply large industrial offtakers and export power to Kenya and DR Congo. Gridworks said the project was “one of the only privately financed” transmission developments in sub-Saharan Africa so far.

Kenyan biomass company Tamuwa plans to launch a credit exchange platform in Q4 2022 after receiving a $100,000 grant from crypto currency funder The HBAR Foundation.

London (LSE)-, Irish- and Ghana Stock Exchange-listed Tullow Oil’s merger with Capricorn Energy (ex-Cairn Energy) brings together two FTSE250 independent exploration and production companies to create an Africa-focused entity with a bigger portfolio and longer pockets. Capricorn’s balance sheet complements Tullow’s regional depth, but questions remain over who gains most from the merger and the deals promised to follow.

Debt finance has been lined up to cover 75% of the cost of a planned geothermal exploration programme by renewable energy company Akiira Geothermal at the Naivasha steam fields in Akiira Valley.

Sun King – the rebranded Greenlight Planet – has raised $260m in a funding round. The series D round attracted major private institutional investors. The fundraising was seen by some observers as a vote of confidence in the solar home system industry, which has suffered negative press in recent months over alleged sharp business practices and continues to face questions about the sustainability of business models.