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The UK government has announced that it will no longer provide funding for fossil fuel projects overseas as it prepares to host the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow next year. The UK has been talking up plans for a green economy as the end of the Brexit transition period approaches, and funding from UK Export Finance (UKEF) for oil and gas projects has attracted criticism at a time when Prime Minister Boris Johnson is keen to position the UK as a global leader on climate change.

Siemens Gamesa announced on 4 January that it has signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Ethiopian Electric Power to build the 100MW Assela wind farm. The contract includes the delivery of 29 SG 3.4-132 wind turbines, which are expected to come online in Q1 2023. The plant is expected to produce 330MWh/yr of electricity at less than €0.09/kWh ($0.11/kWh).

Enel Green Power (EGP) has announced a joint-venture partnership with the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) aimed at financing, building and operating renewable energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa. In a first phase, QIA will acquire 50% of EGP’s stake in 800MW of projects in operation and under construction in South Africa and Zambia. Enel said the JV would combine its industrial expertise with QIA’s long-term investment strategy, in line with the two companies’ sustainability and decarbonisation targets.

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) says it has shortlisted 161 companies to advance to the final stage of the bid round process for 57 marginal oilfields. DPR public affairs head Paul Osu said the companies were selected from more than 600 that applied for prequalification. “The 2020 marginal oilfield bid round process is still ongoing in line with our published timelines on DPR website and bid portal.

National utility NamPower signed a N317m ($20.8m) turnkey construction contract in December with Hopsol Africa Ltd and Tulive Private Equity Ltd for the 20MW Omburu solar PV plant. Speaking at the signing, NamPower managing director Simson Haulofu said the plant would begin operating by November 2021 and would generate 64GWh/yr. He added that the plant is expected to have 37% local content.

Australia’s Syrah Resources Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SolarCentury Africa Ltd to develop an 11.2MW solar PV and 8.5MW battery system to operate alongside an existing 15MW diesel plant at Syrah’s Balama graphite mine. Syrah said it had carried out technical design and pricing analyses with SolarCentury in 2020. The MoU sets the terms for further development, with the aim of installing the plant on a build, own, operate and transfer basis.

Renewables developer Total Eren and Luanda-based Greentech (Angola Environment Technology) have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Energy and Water for the development of a 35MWp solar PV plant at Lubango, Huila province.

China’s decision to participate in the World Bank-led Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) was a rare indication that Beijing was willing to join an international initiative to tackle rising financial pressures on developing economies. Its concerns about its African and other liabilities means Chinese lending “fell off a cliff in 2020”, an AIX panelist observed on 19 January, but Beijing’s commitment remains huge: the African Energy Live Data platform records some $38bn-worth of Chinese investment committed to African power projects in 2014-19.

South Africa’s TBI Investment Managers has completed its first renewable energy deal with a R440m ($29m) refinancing of Emvelo’s 15% equity stake in the 100MW Karoshoek Solar One  concentrated solar power project, which came online in 2018. The deal was done through TBI’s Amandla Renewable Energy Fund, which was set up in 2019 to focus on refinancing equity stakes in South Africa’s renewable energy IPP procurement programme (REIPPP), TBI head of renewable energy Laurentius Human told African Energy.

Chevron subsidiary Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited has given Subsea 7 a contract for the Sanha Lean Gas Connection project in Block 0. The work comprises the construction and installation of a lean gas platform system at a water depth of approximately 70 metres. The lean gas platform is planned as a fixed-leg structure bridge-connected to the existing Sanha condensate complex. Gas from the Sanha field, which started condensate production in 2005, will be supplied to the Angola LNG plant at Soyo.

Australian junior miner AVZ Minerals on 21 January said its $500m-plus green lithium mine project at Manono would be fully supplied by the Piana Mwanga hydroelectric plant – once it has been refurbished – and would aim to achieve a number of other sustainability goals. Analysts said AVZ’s investor call, which focused on sustainability issues following a greenhouse gas assessment at the Manono lithium and tin project by Environmental Resource Management, produced an uptick in its share price as it focused on the project “as potentially having one of the lowest carbon footprints of any lithium mine across the globe”.

Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) on 27 January announced a Ksh 13.9bn ($126.8m) profit before tax for the year to June 2020, thanks to revenues from Olkaria V and proceeds from geothermal drilling in Ethiopia. Profit for 2018/19 was Ksh 11.6bn. In October 2019 KenGen clinched a $43.8m contract to drill 12 geothermal wells for Tulu Moye Geothermal Operations, following an earlier $69.3m agreement with Ethiopian Electric Power for drilling at Aluto-Langano.

For all the noise surrounding South Africa’s green hydrogen potential, even those most involved in synfuels production – whose infrastructure is seen as encouraging development of the nascent industry – seem a long way off delivering such ambitious projects.

The World Bank Group (WBG) has released details of its planned Access to Distributed Electricity and Lighting in Ethiopia (ADELE) project. The $500m International Development Association loan – which will support investment in the national grid, mini-grids, solar home systems (SHS) and standalone solar systems – is expected to be put to the board for approval later this year and will last for six years.

 Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) has completed the $230m Suswa substation, a key component of the Ethiopia-Kenya interconnector project which will allow Kenya to import cheaper hydropower from Ethiopia via a 1,045km, 500kV HVDC transmission line from Wolayta Sodo in Ethiopia to Suswa.