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Côte d’Ivoire was an independent power production pioneer when Globeleq and partners commissioned the first phase of Azito GTP in 1999; it now supplies around one-quarter of CdI’s on-grid supply

Centragrid, the project company for developer African Transmission Corporation (ATC), has commissioned the second phase of its Nyabira solar PV plant in Zimbabwe, in a significant step for a country that is hoping IPPs might help to solve an enduring power crisis. The Centragrid Nyabira plant is Zimbabwe’s first utility-scale solar project wholly funded by domestic capital. ATC founder and director Victor Utedzi spoke to African Energy about the challenges overcome by the project’s second phase and the developer’s plans for phase three.

Miners are proving an additional source of demand for utility Compagnie Ivoirienne d’Electricité (CIE), with two large gold projects recently opting for significant grid offtake instead of developing the large on-site commercial and industrial (C&I) power plants seen in other West African mining jurisdictions.

Washington, DC-based grid management specialist SparkMeter has signed a deal for Somali utility Blue Sky Energy to use its smart meters and grid management technology in a pilot programme. SparkMeter already has schemes with two other Somali utilities, Caabudwaq Electric Company and National Energy Corporation of Somalia (Necsom).

Swiss multinational Oryx Energies plans an increased presence in Kenya’s fuel markets, diversifying its traditional role as a bulk supplier. It follows a similar move by the company in Uganda.

Explosives and chemicals company AECI’s 4MW commercial and industrial (C&I) solar PV plant in Johannesburg has started operations. The project is part of AECI’s four-phase programme, launched in 2021, to generate solar power across various manufacturing sites.

Zambia’s Energy Regulation Board has approved drastic measures to reduce loadshedding, including a significant ‘temporary’ increase in retail tariffs, use of the national fuel reserve and emergency funds, and greater power imports from the Southern African Power Pool.

Zimbabwe’s sovereign wealth fund the Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF) has backed a $350m joint venture between state utility Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) and Jindal Africa Investments to refurbish the Hwange coal-powered plant. The refurbishment is a potentially important step in efforts to ease Zimbabwe’s power supply deficit, with the country experiencing power outages lasting up to 12 hours a day.

An internal report by Zambia’s Meteorological Department seen by African Energy has warned that a plan to take water from the Luapula river in the north and pump it to the hydroelectric plants on the Kafue river in the south could cause severe harm to the ecosystem.

CrossBoundary Energy has purchased Caledonia Mining Corporation’s Blanket Mine solar PV plant in Gwanda, Zimbabwe, adding the new asset to its ever-growing renewable energy portfolio in Africa.

Following a hydrocarbon exploration and production agreement signed by the Somali Petroleum Authority and the Turkish Petroleum Corporation in July, a seismic research ship has now been sent from Istanbul to explore three offshore blocks in the Horn of Africa, protected by two Turkish frigates. Ankara has also signed a memorandum of understanding with São Tomé and Príncipe which could lead to similar activity there.

While local institutional financing for renewable energy remains limited in Zimbabwe, the landscape is changing. In September, Old Mutual Zimbabwe (OMZ), United Nations agencies and the government launched a $100m Renewable Energy Fund (REF) to finance and develop renewable energy projects.

Dakar’s plans to meet its refined product needs from domestic feedstock could see an 80,000 b/d greenfield refinery being built. If it goes ahead, it would ease pressure on the country’s only existing refinery, SAR’s 30,000 b/d Mbao plant, which was itself recently upgraded.

Zambia’s Energy Regulation Board (ERB) is due to decide on 11 October whether to raise electricity prices by 56% in order to pay for more power imports from neighbouring countries. Key stakeholders are arguing once again in favour of a sharp increase in rates, just weeks after a similar plan was abandoned. Due to severe droughts, Zambia is experiencing one of the worst power outages in its history, with households having rolling power blackouts of up to three consecutive days.

The Zambian government has withdrawn plans to set up a state-owned company to control at least 30% of the output of projects focused on copper, cobalt, lithium and other critical minerals, but lobbying by industry has seen the plan put on ice.