Search results

Swiss renewable energy developer meeco has signed a cooperation agreement with Malagasy conglomerate Groupe Filatex to build a series of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects. The partners will initially build, own and operate two utility-scale PV power plants with nominal capacities of 7MW and 8MW, and one hybrid solar diesel project comprising two units with a nominal capacity of 500kWp each.

Madagascar is to launch a licensing round in November offering 44 offshore blocks in the Morondava Basin. The 2018-19 bid round will be launched at Africa Oil Week in Cape Town on 5-9 November, coinciding with presidential elections in Madagascar on 7 November in which the incumbent president, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, will face his two predecessors and 33 other candidates. Andry Rajoelina, who was in power from 2009 to 2014, and Marc Ravalomanana, president from 2002 to 2009, were barred from running in 2013 under a deal designed to bring stability to the impoverished Indian Ocean island.

President Hery Rajaonarimampianina inaugurated Madagascar’s first utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant on 26 June. The 20 MWp plant at Ambohipihaonana, in Ambatolampy district in the Vakinankaratra region of the Central Highlands, was built by French developer, GreenYellow at a combined cost of €25m ($29m). The facility, which covers 28 hectares and comprises over 73,000 panels, will supply power to national power utility Jiro sy Rano Malagasy under a 25-year power purchase agreeement.

The World Bank on 14 June approved an International Development Association credit of $40m to improve electricity sector governance and operations. The additional financing for the Madagascar Electricity Sector Operations and Governance Improvement Project will help ensure full implementation of a performance improvement plan for state utility Jiro sy Rano Malagasy (Jirama) that was prepared in 2016.

Guernsey-registered Bushveld Minerals Ltd announced on 22 May that it has signed a 30-year concession agreement with the Madagascan government for its Imaloto integrated coal power project. The concession follows the signing of a power purchase agreement (PPA) with national utility Jiro sy Rano Malagasy (Jirama) for the project in November 2017. The plant is scheduled to begin operating by 2021.

In a return to pure exploration for the UK major, BP has quietly taken 100% in four production-sharing contracts (PSCs) covering 45,000km2 offshore north-west Madagascar.The four blocks in the Majunga Basin, Ampasindava, Cap St André and Majunga 1 and 2 were previously held by ExxonMobil as three PSCs. ExxonMobil had planned a deep-water well on the Sifaka prospect on the Ampasindava Block, but drilling was repeatedly postponed amid the island’s political crisis.

Axian Group subsidiary Jovena is planning its second major investment in the island state’s power generation in support of the government’s energy transition programme. Following the commissioning last October of the Noor 1 and 2 heavy fuel oil (HFO)-fired thermal power plants, which were inaugurated in January this year, Jovena, one of Madagascar’s leading petroleum products distributors, is in discussions with the government over the terms of a build, own, operate and transfer concession for a 120MW hydropower plant in Toamasina in the Tamatave region.

UK-based rental power provider Aggreko has commissioned a 28MW heavy fuel oil (HFO) plant in Antananarivo. The new plant, Noor II, will operate alongside Noor I, which is run by Axian Group’s Jovena company. Noor II was developed as part of a 50MW contract extension with national utility Jiro sy Rano Malagasy (Jirama), the company said.

Alternative Investment Market-listed Bushveld Minerals Ltd announced on 23 November that its subsidiary Imaloto Power Project Sarl has signed a 30-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with state power utility Jiro sy Rano Malagasy (Jirama) for the construction of the 60MW Imaloto integrated coal power and mining plant. Financial close is anticipated in H1 2018 with commercial operations in 2021. The power plant – owned by Lemur Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bushveld Minerals – will be located at the mine-mouth of the company’s coal deposit.

Turkey’s Aksa Energy officially commissioned a heavy fuel oil (HFO) plant at a ceremony on 7 November. The plant was developed by Aksaf Power Ltd, owned 58.35% by Aksa and 41.65% by a local partner. The power plant is expected to produce about 700,000 MWh/yr of guaranteed sales at a US dollar-based tariff, with fuel procurement, land, and licences and permits related to the project provided by Jiro Sy Rano Malagasy (Jirama).

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum issued a decree in October that was adopted by the Council of Ministers, defining the legal framework for the supply, transportation and storage of crude oil and oil products from Madagascar Oil’s Tsimiroro heavy oil field.This follows a memorandum of understanding signed with the Ministry of Transport and Meteorology in August for an oil terminal at Maintirano port, to deliver Tsimiroro oil to domestic and regional customers.

Madagascar has commissioned its first integrated solar photovoltaic (PV) and storage facility. The project, which will serve the village of Belobaka, in the Bongolava region, about 290km from Antananarivo, was inaugurated on 27 October by President Hery Rajaonarimampianina. The pilot project, which comprises 720 PV modules as well as batteries with a storage capacity of 315kWh, was installed by local energy group Henri Fraise Fils & Cie in partnership with the US-based battery storage manufacturer Fluidic Energy, which supplied the integrated energy storage system.

Siemens, in partnership with Spain’s TSK, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government to cooperate to identify measures to fast-track power generation and work towards increasing capacity by an additional 300MW by 2019. One of the short-term initiatives is the installation of a Siemens 44MW aeroderivative gas turbine (SGT-A45) for mobile power generation in Antananarivo.

The Ministry of Water, Energy and Hydrocarbons is seeking private investors to participate in a two-stage tendering process for the selection of an independent power producer for the design, financing, construction, commissioning and operation of a grid-connected solar photovoltaic plant with an installed capacity of about 25MW(AC), associated with an energy storage device, to be located near Antananarivo.

The government is looking to revitalise bedraggled utility Jiro sy Rany Malagasy (Jirama) and attract investment to help reach its goal of generating 85% of power from renewables by 2030. But some of the signals given out by President Hery Rajaonarimampianina ahead of the 2018 elections have political analysts concerned.Speaking to African Energy at Developing Markets Associates (DMA)’s UK-Madagascar Trade and Investment Forum, President Rajaonarimampianina said the country was looking for public and private investment to build energy infrastructure, adding that it was one of the sectors generating the most interest from foreign investors.