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West Africa’s total installed generation capacity could reach 43GW by 2027 from 31GW at end-2021, according to African Energy Live Data’s latest analysis, with thermal, hydropower and other renewable projects lining up. But many of these capacity additions are planned for Nigeria, where results may be patchy, as it is already hard to dispatch power from existing plants to an inadequate grid.

Climate Finance Partnership (CFP), an investment vehicle run by giant United States fund manager BlackRock, is making its first investment in Africa with a large minority stake in the 310MW Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) project in Marsabit County, northern Kenya.

London AIM- and Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed Atlantic Lithium expects to receive official approval for Ghana’s first lithium mine in the coming months, despite some investor-driven controversy over its project.

Chadian developer ZIZ Energie has confirmed to African Energy the dates it expects its solar PV mini-grids in Ati and Moussoro to come online. The two projects have faced numerous delays due to supply constraints and financing issues.

Infrastructure minister James Musoni, US ambassador Erica Barks-Ruggles and German ambassador Peter Woeste have launched the construction of the 2.6MW Rwaza I hydropower plant in Musanze district, Northern Province. The $12m project is funded by the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and by Germany’s KfW. “The power plant we are launching today might be small in size, but we have no doubt that even the 2.6MW to be produced at Rwaza-Muko micro-hydropower plant will greatly contribute to our bold vision.

Expanding energy access is one key to the government’s strategy to spur economic growth by way of industrialisation. The strategy is also expected to include privatisation of some state-owned enterprises (SOEs), notably in the sugar industry.

One of the most familiar – and well liked – faces on the African power development scene over many years of significant achievement coupled with good humour in the face of adversity, Bob Chestnutt has died after a sudden illness.

Peace has largely held since the 2 November agreement between Ethiopia’s federal government and the northern Tigray region, brokered by the African Union and sealed in the South African capital Pretoria, which ended two years of war. But domestic stakeholders and international partners are looking on nervously as violence has flared up elsewhere, pointing to the fragility of communal relations in a diverse country with a population estimated at 123m.

Elcora Advanced Materials is preparing to make its first manganese shipments from Morocco, while also developing a vanadium mine with plans to supply the European battery market.

A recent flurry of activity by outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari will help his successor Bola Tinubu to tackle key macroeconomic problems, including cutting subsidies and overhauling the exchange rate. It could pave the way for a more proactive government at a time of extreme economic and other stresses, writes Jon Marks.

An anticipated surge in demand for electricity in the coming years – from a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) project as well as the mining sector, a new electric railway and other sources – is prompting the government to look at adding more gas-fired capacity to the grid and to push ahead with renewable energy projects, writes Marc Howard.

After outlining contingent support for Mozambican natural gas projects, the World Bank has told African Energy it may back other projects on a ‘selective basis’, with criteria that could favour African markets, writes Marc Howard.

Sudan’s energy sector has a history of mismanagement and bad value deals going back many years. Its record of failure started under Omar Hassan Al-Bashir (head of state under various titles from 1989 until 2019) and worsened under the ineffective successor civilian administration.

State-owned utility Office National de l’Electricité et de l’Eau Potable (Onee) has issued a tender for the construction of a 900MW open cycle gas turbine (OCGT) power plant adjacent to Al-Wahda dam and the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline (GME). The project’s estimated cost is MD6bn ($592m).

Tanzanian Electrical Supply Company (Tanesco) has still not signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for a renewable energy (RE) independent power project (IPP) of more than 10MW capacity. This is a glaring omission according to one participant at the Africa Investment Exchange: Energy in Transition meeting in London in mid-April, given Tanzania is endowed with excellent wind and solar resources.