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The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has selected Ron Robinson LLC to study funding opportunities for power projects in southern Africa.

There is a steady flow of positive news coming from Eskom, as the South African power giant seeks to restore its reputation after several very bad months.

South Africa is keen to promote research into carbon capture and storage, which will help it to exploit its huge CO2 storage capacity.

The government and African National Congress (ANC) have agreed to set up a task team to prepare for an energy summit next month to discuss the power supply crisis.

Cegelec to expand grid at Arzew; Work starts at Kpone plant; Strategic energy study; Coal miner plans 500MW power plant; Higher tariffs; AFC backs power project; Mittal in deal with Coal of Africa; Miners complain of power shortages

The South African government’s decision to remove its mandate from AES Corporation to develop a long-awaited independent power project (see Power, above), and the rising number of warnings to markets by companies with southern African operations of the potential for losses of earnings due to outages, shows the crisis in the regional electricity supply industry

IPSA Group has signed a £15.5m ($30m) loan facility agreement with Standard Bank. Some £12.7m has been used to pay the balance of funds due to Siemens subsidiary TurboCare for the _31.2m ($49.5m) acquisition of four Fiat Avio 501 D gas turbines for the Coega industrial zone project. The remainder will be used for working capital purposes. “We are really delighted by the strong support for IPSA shown by Standard Bank at this time of turbulence in the international financial markets.

Eskom is increasing its imports and has approved another major pumped storage project, but the medium-term supply situation remains very tight – and the prospects of drawing in new investment are not helped by the failure of the government’s planned independent power project.

Global Energy is planning to plant castor as the first stage of a project to produce non-edible oil for the biodiesel industry. The Mozambique government has signed an agreement with Oilmoz to build a 350,000 b/d oil refinery. Sasol has selected Foster Wheeler South Africa to carry out a pre-feasibility study for the proposed Project Mafutha coal-to-liquids (CTL) facility .

The International Finance Corporation announced on 17 March that it signed agreements for projects in South Africa and India that will make first use of its carbon delivery guarantee.

Long project lead-ins and an increasingly cumbersome registration and assessment system have severely limited the volume of carbon emission reduction credits generated by African companies, according to a leading market player.

Rio Tinto Alcan, key investor in the Coega industrial zone, is rethinking its timetable in the light of South Africa’s power crisis. But private power provider IPSA Group is confident it can meet its needs.

Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality (GSDM) in north-eastern South Africa has received approval to proceed with a multi-million dollar hydroelectric project in Limpopo Province following approval of an environmental impact assessment.

Eskom was a key beneficiary of the flurry of contracts whose announcement accompanied President Nicolas Sarkozy’s state visit in February.

Zambia Electricity Supply Company (Zesco) has opened talks with international financial institutions including the World Bank, the African Development Bank and export credit agencies to raise an initial $600m to build and upgrade hydropower plants, including the 750MW Kafue Gorge Lower project.