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COP26 opened with high-minded speeches and a welter of public and private sector commitments, as dozens of African nations said they would accelerate their own decarbonisation. Governments called for existing pledges to tackle environmental disaster to be met, underpinning a ‘just transition’ in which poorer economies aren’t penalised by big emitters’ plans to cut carbon.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s aim of using COP27 to bolster Egypt’s credentials as a regional green energy hub have seen deals on multi-gigawatt wind farms and the commissioning of the first green hydrogen (GH2) pilot project in Africa. But tricky compromises will be needed to turn some of the heady plans into reality.

More information has emerged about the mix of finance that will support South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). An official source from a G7 country told African Energy “there is an amount of grant and technical assistance. It is significant but not enormous.”

Amea Power has secured a $75m equity funding round from SoftBank Group Corporation (SBG). The Dubai-based developer said the Japanese investor’s financing represented its “first external equity funding following years of being privately funded by its founding shareholders, the [Kuwaiti] Al-Nowais family.”

The state-owned Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has agreed a $20m concessional loan to upgrade transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure in the Kamonyi district of Rwanda.

Analysis of procurement trends recorded on the African Energy Live Data platform shows that capacity procured through competitive auctions should add at least 15.1GW by 2027, with solar and natural gas adding an estimated 4.4GW and 4.3GW respectively, while wind and hybrid power will also make significant additions to the continent’s generation mix, writes Ajay Ubhi.

Brazzaville has accelerated its long-mooted policy of offering public/private partnership (PPP) concessions to run infrastructure, with deals agreed for international companies to run the Moukoukoulou, Imboulou, Liouosso and Djoué hydroelectric power (HEP) dams and other facilities, including major highway Route Nationale 1.

United Kingdom government-owned Gridworks has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) to develop the country's first independent transmission project (ITP).

India’s Nava Bharat Ventures (NBV) is seeking support from the Zambian government to raise finance to double output at its Maamba Collieries Ltd (MCL) coal-fired power plant, after Chinese lenders that backed the initial phase proved unwilling to fund the planned expansion.

Centamin on 26 July announced the completion of preliminary work to expand its solar PV plant at the Sukari gold mine, near Marsa Alam on Egypt's Red Sea Coast. Centamin also said that qualifying tenders for Sukari’s connection to the grid had been received.

Biomass is often used as a catch-all term, but there are several types of feedstock and important differences between them. African Energy examines the different types of biomass.

East African Power (EAP) has taken an 85% stake in two solar photovoltaic projects, the Kolwezi and Likasi independent power producers (IPPs), each with 133MWp capacity in Katanga province.

Work at the 130MW Kandadji hydroelectric power (HEP) project has been halted, after developer China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC) declared force majeure on 7 August following the 26 July military takeover of the country.

Amea Power has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with state utility Electricité de Djibouti (EDD) that will see the Dubai-based compnay become the first independent power producer (IPP) to develop a solar project in Djibouti.

Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Northam Platinum is weighing up plans to add more solar PV capacity at its Booysendal, Eland and Zondereinde mines, while also procuring more diesel generators, as it seeks to reduce reliance on the national grid.