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African electricity markets are on the threshold of genuine reform in 2024, even if policy-makers’ grandest ambitions are destined to meet with disappointment. African Energy has examined the first data that has emerged from the third development phase of the African Union’s Continental Master Plan and found much to applaud.

Ore feed has resumed at the Langer Heinrich uranium plant, with commercial production expected in near term after operator ASX-listed Paladin Energy raised $150m of new debt.

South African state electricity utility Eskom has said a 10% curtailment exercise will unlock almost 3.5GW of transmission capacity for wind power generation in Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces.

Australian junior Globe says it is advancing its project to site a niobium refinery in the Malawian capital and has outlined an ambitious plan to power mining and refining operations with renewable energy.

Commercial operations for the $127m Mozambique-Malawi (Moma) transmission interconnection project has been delayed, a source with knowledge of the project told African Energy. The delay to the Moma link into the Southern Africa Power Pool comes after a previous hold-up from demining complications, while other milestones remain to be met for the long-awaited regional interconnection scheme.

KenGen has requested consultants to provide project management and supervisory services for the 42.5MWac Seven Forks solar PV development.

An oversubscribed Eurobond issue in January indicated that Côte d’Ivoire’s strong economic performance – including 6.5% GDP growth, big infrastructure investments and Eni’s major Baleine oil and gas field – has been enough to allay investors’ concerns over the presidential succession and wider regional instability. These issues feature in the first of African Energy’s new series of Risk Management Reports (RMRs), which will provide updates, analysis and context on key political, social, economic and energy trends in countries across the continent. In line with the model established by African Energy’s sister publication Gulf States Newsletter (GSN), a ‘risk grade’ (explained below) is assigned to each country. A full list of African risk grades will follow soon.

KenGen is seeking contractors to supply runners for the Seven Forks hydroelectric power (HEP) plant. The five HEP plant cascade provides over a fifth of the country’s electricity and is the site of a major solar PV programme.

Local conglomerate PFO Africa has signed a PPA for Côte d’Ivoire’s largest-ever solar development, near the northern city of Ferkessédougou.

Despite a 14GW announced pipeline of new power generation projects, 2023 was marked by the lowest amount of new-build capacity being added to the continent’s grid since 2018, according to new analysis from African Energy Live Data. Hydroelectric and solar additions came out on top, while gas-to-power schemes continued to disappoint as delays and unrealised projects clog up the project pipeline.

The sale by Denmark’s Investment Fund for Developing Countries of a minority stake in the successful Lake Turkana IPP to a fund managed by BlackRock shows big institutional investors can be attracted to sub-Saharan renewables – and the returns that can be made by those willing to shoulder early-stage risks.

Lotus Resources’ fundraising will help the Australian miner to restart the Kayelekera mine in Malawi, where negotiations for a power purchase agreement and grid connection with Escom continue.

Sekaname Proprietary and state utility Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) have signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the development of a pilot Sekaname coal bed methane (CBM) plant. Authorities in Botswana, which has been undertaking CBM prospecting for many years, see the commercial production of gas as a step towards the country transitioning from coal-dependent generation to a new energy mix that include gas, solar and wind.

7YRDS Energy Zambia is seeking a partnership with the Lusaka-based Industrial Development Corporation to build two solar PV projects in Kafue and Sesheke districts with combined 100MW capacity.

An arm of public utility Rwanda Energy Group is seeking contractors to build a substation at Bugesera Industrial Park.