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The 15MW Nyamagasani I and 5MW Nyamagasani II run-of-river hydropower projects are both due to be commissioned in 2021. The plants received financial commitments of $13m in the third round of the Global Energy Transfer Feed-in Tariffs (GET FiT) programme in November 2014.

Zurich-based ABB is looking to deploy a range of digital tools including unmanned subsea operations, digital wellheads and virtual representations of physical assets such as pipelines (which it calls ‘digital twins’) in Uganda.

The 44.7MW Muzizi hydropower plant is in the final stages of its procurement process, German development bank KfW told African Energy. KfW principal project manager Georg Gruener on 30 April said he expected Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd (UEGCL) and the government to reach a final investment decision (FID) by year-end.

The partners of the Lake Albert development project have concluded a shareholders’ agreement for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop) and a tariff and transportation agreement. An 11 April signing ceremony in Entebbe was attended by Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and his Tanzanian counterpart Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Cape Town-based developer Red Rocket expects its 140MW Roggeveld Wind plant in the Northern Cape to reach commercial operations by end-year and has a number of other projects ready to close, chief executive Matteo Brambilla told African Energy. The company recently achieved commercial operations at the 4MW Kruisvallei hydroelectric power plant, selected under the renewable energy IPP programme (REIPPP) fourth round.

As African Energy editor Thalia Griffiths leaves to explore new opportunities, colleagues asked for her take on developments after 23 years leading the publication. For all the tragedies like the current Ethiopian conflict, she sees real hope for a better future on a continent where, in many places, governance has improved and previously marginalised populations are becoming empowered to enact positive change.

Total has defended itself against criticism of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, publishing its social and environmental studies and action plans and pledging transparency. In the latest attack on the project, 263 organisations from 49 countries have banded together to campaign against the planned export pipeline to carry Uganda’s crude oil to the Tanzanian coast.

Off-grid developer Winch Energy has confirmed its funding for an ambitious solar mini-grid project, comprising 49 sites in Uganda and Sierra Leone. As Winch chief executive Nicholas Wrigley told African Energy in January, the funding, which comprises $100m of debt and equity, is for a new platform, Winch Energy IPP Holdings (WIPP).

Power Africa is seeking projects offering off-grid energy access to improve the capabilities of healthcare facilities providing maternal and child health services in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda. Grant funding will support the scale-up of existing business models or technologies for the electrification of healthcare facilities.

Off-grid solar company Solarise Africa announced on 9 February it had signed a partnership agreement with turnkey energy firm Centennial Generating Company. The deal sees Solarise Africa acquire stakes in seven projects in Rwanda, two in Zambia and one in Uganda, spread across the education, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, hospitality and agriculture sectors.

Off-grid solar company Solarise Africa announced on 9 February that it had signed a partnership agreement with turnkey energy firm Centennial Generating Company.

Four companies or joint ventures have been shortlisted for oil blocks in western Uganda offered in the country’s second licensing round. The four are Uganda National Oil Company, Total E&P, Australian miner DGR Global, whose Armour Energy subsidiary already has the Kanywataba Block, and local company PetroAfrik Energy Resources East Africa, in a joint venture with Nigeria’s Niger Delta Petroleum Resources, the New Vision daily reported.

A French court has dismissed an appeal by two French and four Ugandan NGOs seeking to challenge Total’s handling of the Tilenga development project. The case is the first to be brought under France’s 2017 Corporate Duty of Vigilance law, and the NGOs hope to establish a precedent with wider implications for Total and other international companies.

The UK’S Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP), part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on 11 December announced that it had signed an agreement to invest £1m ($1.3m) of equity in renewable-powered battery rental company Mobile Power. The investment was part of a £2m series A funding round.

The United Kingdom’s Renewable Energy Performance Platform on 11 December announced that it had signed an agreement to invest £1m equity in renewable-powered battery rental company Mobile Power.