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Off-grid plants of up to 10MW are to be permitted in mini-grid zones to attract private sector investment as part of a major new initiative to increase rural electrification. Stakeholders in late October outlined bold policy reforms to overcome low rates of electrification – with an overall official access rate of only 40%, falling to just 8% in rural areas – that have added to popular criticism of the authorities’ ability to drive inclusive development.

The BRILHO – Energy Africa Mozambique programme, running from 2019 to 2023, has issued a call for expressions of interest for the development of green mini-grids.

The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) is making a new push to convince governments around Africa to support wind, with the launch of the Africa WindPower initiative on 30 September. The new body is backed by private developers and equipment suppliers such as GE Renewable Energy, Siemens Gamesa, Enel Green Power and EDF Renewables and supported by GET Invest, a European programme to promote renewable energy in developing countries.

TotalEnergies now expects the Area 1 project to start producing gas for export in 2026 at the earliest – formally acknowledging a delay of at least two years from its expected 2024 start.

Mozambique was not considered part of President Paul Kagame’s strategic orbit, and the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) deployment to Cabo Delgado has aroused considerable interest and controversy in eastern and southern Africa. The straight-line distance from Kigali to Palma is some 1,500km, which poses logistical challenges for sustaining a large deployment, particularly for a country of Rwanda’s limited means. This has led analysts to query who is providing the funding.

The Rwandan deployment has changed the course of the Mozambique government’s battle against Islamist insurgents. This opens the way for a crucial resumption of big gas projects in Cabo Delgado, but questions remain about the Rwandan deployment’s funding, President Kagame’s strategic goals and whether the insurgency is really beaten, writes Marc Howard

Geneva-headquartered commodities trader Montfort Group has acquired Matola Terminal de Armazenamento de Petróleos’s oil product storage facility in the Mozambican port of Matola. The unit, with 58,000m3-plus of clean product storage capacity, will be owned, developed and operated in partnership with Malaysia-based trading company Energi Asia.

Moves by the South African and Mozambican governments to take control of the Rompco pipeline showed the fundamental shift in Pretoria’s strategic view, as big beasts Eskom and Sasol look to decarbonise. There is significant potential for a regional gas economy – underlined by urgent action to end the jihadist insurgency in Cabo Delgado – but past politics and indecision is tempering optimism, writes Dan Marks

Industry observers feared old-guard elements in South Africa’s ruling ANC and the Mozambique government might not resist the temptation to call for their state companies to pre-empt the sale of Sasol’s 30% stake in Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Investments Company (Rompco).

The governments of South Africa – under the influence of less-than-liberal, traditional nationalist thinking in the ruling African National Congress (ANC) – and Mozambique (which may have been persuaded by regional politics to follow its powerful neighbour) could not resist the temptation to call for their state companies to pre-empt the sale of Sasol’s 30% stake in the Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Investments Company (Rompco) natural gas pipeline.

The Mozambique government will issue a request for proposals this year to sell a majority stake in the planned 1.5GW Mphanda Nkuwa hydroelectric power (HEP) plant on the Zambezi River. The sale process is expected to take close to six months to complete, including a six-week process to negotiate a joint development agreement.

Construction has begun on the 19MWp/15MWac Cuamba solar PV plant with 2MW/7MWh battery storage in Mozambique, according to a statement by project sponsors UK-based Globeleq, private equity firm Source Capital and Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM) on 14 June.

Construction has begun on the 19MWp/15MWac Cuamba solar PV plant with 2MW/7MWh battery storage in Mozambique

Italy’s Eni seems gradually to be swallowing up BP’s African assets, with potential deals in Algeria and Angola building on a close relationship forged also in Egypt, Libya and Mozambique. These deals may be a sign of a deeper shake-out as European majors adapt to the demands of energy transition, writes James Gavin.

A series of technical and commercial agreements have been signed for the Pande and Temane gas development.