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The addition of 3GW of solar power generation capacity over the next two years will be the first substantial shift in Algeria’s gas-dependent energy mix in decades – and is intended as the first step in a programme to add 15GW of solar capacity by 2035 – but coming after years of false dawns, the government’s track record raises significant doubts about whether the new vision is achievable, writes John Hamilton.

The estimated $1bn EPC deal for the Banda and Tevet fields, which hold combined estimated reserves of 2.2tcf, is the first involvement by Egyptian players in Mauritania’s upstream and marks the revival of Nouakchott’s long-held plans to supply gas to its flagship Banda Duale power plant.

Some headline elements of the now ruling Parti Africain du Sénégal, pour l’Ethique et la Fraternité (Pastef les Patriotes)’s policy were presented during the election campaign, which included the following commitments:

Low rainfall in Guinea has led to yet another round of loadshedding and, in turn, widespread protests and deadly violence. Interim President Mamady Doumbouya is keen to end loadshedding and stoke the economy before holding delayed elections in 2025, but a small pipeline of projects raises questions about how soon new capacity can be brought online, writes Marc Howard.

Moroccan plans to build regasification plants to supply Onee’s existing and planned CCGT power stations have been mooted for more than a decade, but could now finally be moving ahead, with government commitments to build an LNG import unit at Nador, with other schemes to follow.

Prospects for the regional electricity supply industry and West African power trading took a huge leap forward when two major networks interconnected at Linsan in Guinea. Much work remains to be done after the 2 April link-up, but the OMVG-CLSG interconnection points to a more positive direction of travel for a West African Power Pool that is starting to excite market interest.