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State grid operator Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) has called for consultancy services for the African Development Bank (AfDB)-supported Eastern Ethiopia Electricity Grid Reinforcement Project.

Three distribution companies – Kano, Kaduna and Aba Power Limited Electric – were briefly disconnected from the grid by Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) in April after a long history of unpaid invoices. Government intervention led to them being reconnected, but only for a 60-day grace period. TCN has warned that other discos could be disconnected once the grace period expires.

Canadian mining firm Global Atomic has signed an agreement with Enernet Global to build a hybrid power plant at the Dasa uranium project in Niger. The plant will be built by Enernet under a build-own-operate model.

The rapid increase in private sector projects is recorded in National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) data that show more than 1GW of electricity generation projects were launched by private companies in January/February 2023 alone, following the removal of licensing restrictions in December.

International energy majors are investing to raise oil and gas output and developing solar plants, while others are looking to tap into Angola’s critical minerals and other resources plays. With news flow suggesting considerable activity in diverse energy-related industries, but wary of governance shortfalls, African Energy asks: is it time for investors to get excited about Angola?

Angolan power projects contractor Aenergy and its Portuguese owner Ricardo Leitão Machado are continuing an extensive and detailed legal campaign in the United States and United Kingdom against Luanda-based state entities and various General Electric (GE)-related businesses.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has approved plans by utility Eskom to procure 344.5MW of capacity from new solar PV and battery energy storage plants.

Developers of small hydropower (SHP) projects in East Africa are facing greater challenges in raising finance for their schemes, as a result of weak national grids and a shift away from take-or-pay arrangements by offtakers, according to one industry figure.

Despite vigorous opposition from a number of quarters, the South African government’s recently appointed electricity minister – who has been given new powers – still wants to procure 2GW of emergency electricity in a revised contract with Turkish-owned Karpowership. Meanwhile, generation is not the only factor causing difficulties, as the grid reaches its limit in some parts of the country.

The German government-supported Clean Energy and Energy Inclusion for Africa (CEI Africa) fund said on 2 June it had awarded $7.3m in grants to three solar PV mini-grid developers for projects in Kenya.

President Ismail Omar Guelleh commissioned the 20MW wind plant that supplies the Doraleh Desalination facility, 5km west of Djibouti City, on 14 March. Energy generated by the plant is used to power the 22,500m3 capacity reverse osmosis facility. The government plans a further upgrade to 45,000m3.

Egypt’s Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly and Central Bank of Egypt governor Hassan Abdalla face an imminent decision on whether to allow the operators of solar power projects at the Benban Solar Farm to convert Egyptian pound profits into dollars so they can meet a mid-July debt repayment deadline. At stake are both short-term financial stability and long-term credibility.

Nigeria’s recently launched Energy Transition Plan aims to make Abuja’s target of net zero emissions by 2060 a reality, but the debt-for-climate deal proposed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo could be even more important in relieving more immediate economic pressures – if creditors agree to provide the funds requested for a new deal that promotes gas as the key ‘transition fuel’.

Speeches made by African leaders at the 1-2 November opening of COP26 provided some insights into how they plan to move ahead with decarbonisation, while ensuring they don’t lose out on development opportunities for their economies. African Energy examines an A-to-Z of the leaders’ preoccupations

Cairo has got much of what it wanted from the COP27 climate-fest in Sharm El Sheikh, with $85bn of green hydrogen and renewable power mega-deals that have focused attention and foreign investment on a centrepiece of President Sisi’s economic strategy, Egypt’s energy hub concept. African Energy has analysed proposals from nine investment partners to calculate how much wind and solar generation capacity will be needed to produce green ammonia equivalent to 10% of current global production, which Egypt says it is ‘harvesting’, writes John Hamilton.