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Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the European Union and the African Union Commission’s Regional Geothermal Coordination Unit are gearing up to select the first projects from their new €50m Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility (GRMF), to support developments in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

Bumbuna hydro developer Joule Africa has appointed three big names to its advisory board. Lord Triesman was UK parliamentary

The recent ten-week strike at the Medupi coal power project is just the latest in a series of disputes at the site. With problems identified with welding and control system software, Eskom and the government have no margin for error if they are to avoid load-shedding at the end of the year, writes Dan Marks. The South African government, Eskom and contractors are pulling out all the stops to ensure that the first 800MW unit of the giant 4,764MW Medupi coal-fired power plant begins commissioning in December 2013, with the spectre of 2008’s blackouts looming over events. An outline for negotiations for a new project labour agreement (PLA), the overarching framework governing labour relations at the site, is being drawn up.

The near collapse of Libya’s electric power system ought to have provided an opportunity for APR Energy to achieve the much-delayed renewal of its 450MW rental contracts with General Electric Company of Libya (Gecol). However, a combination of political missteps and problems with accessing foreign currency reserves to finance any new contract destroyed any chance of a deal going through. So, in late January, the company informed investors that, as the Tobruk-based House of Representatives had not ratified its extension, its board had approved “the reassignment of those assets to new opportunities, effective immediately”.

Botswana’s Ministry for Minerals, Energy and Water Resources has released an indicative timeframe for bids from shortlisted developers for a 300MW power project. Bidding is likely to take place in late March. Australia’s African Energy Resources (AFR) said it was among those shortlisted to receive the invitation, in Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, and that should the bid be successful and proceed according to the indicative timeframe, then financial close could be achieved by year-end. AFR said the ministry was finalising the appointment of legal and transaction advisors for the project, to develop a minemouth coal plant at the company’s Sese coal field.

The African Development Bank has approved a ZAR2.89bn ($217.9m) loan to Eskom Holdings to help finance the upgrade and expansion of transmission facilities. The funding supports the Eskom Transmission Improvement Project, which will see the construction of 555km of 400kV transmission lines in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga province and the upgrading of substation equipment and improvement of substation earth mats in Mpumalanga.

The Agency for Rural Electrification (Ager) invites expressions of interest by 12 June from private contractors to develop a detailed proposal for the electrification of a dozen rural localities within the framework of the Guinea Electricity Access Scale Up Project.The localities will be electrified through hybrid systems composed of solar PV power plants with storage and diesel generators and mini-grids, and will be spread over a maximum of four zones to be finalised by Ager within the tender process.

The Ministry of Economy, Finance and Development Co-operation is seeking bids for a contract to supply, install and commission electrical equipment for the hydroelectric micro power plant and rehabilitation of the power supply at tea estates belonging to the Burundi Tea Office (OTB).

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) on 24 June approved two grants for renewable energy projects in Ghana. Some $926,614 was approved for eleQtra (West Africa) Ltd to support technical assistance for a 50MW wind power project in the Greater Accra region. The grant will fund the preparation of technical studies to determine the energy production and topographical, geotechnical, grid interconnection and market characteristics of the project. Also included is the preparation of tender documents for the engineering, procurement and construction contractor and legal support. Technical assistance funded by USTDA will be restricted to US companies.

Casablanca Bourse-listed Jorf Lasfar Electricity Company (Jlec) is to change its name to Taqa Morocco. This reflects its majority ownership by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and will be formally voted at a 13 October general assembly. Jlec has been making increased profits since its Jorf Lasfar 5&6 coal-fired units came on line in July. Jlec’s gross profit rose by 34% in H1 2014 to exceed MD3,145m ($360m), up from (MD2,347m in Q1 13), driven by lower world coal prices, as well as unit 5 coming into operation. It reported a MD385m net profit for the period.

Fresh legal proceedings have been filed in a long-running Tanzanian power plant dispute, as Standard Chartered Bank tries to recover debt that it claims is owed to its Hong Kong subsidiary, writes Kevin Godier

Standard Bank as mandated lead arranger has finalised a $120m debt package with Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) for the rehabilitation of the Hwange and Kariba South power plants. Standard Bank partnered the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (PTA Bank) to deliver the financing, which was a continuation of a previous funding arrangement with ZPC that went towards its contribution to the 300MW expansion of Kariba South.

French consortium Starsol has issued an invitation for consultancy services to assist with plans for the development, construction and operation of a solar photovoltaic (PV) plant near N’Djamena. The consortium, comprising Paris-based solar energy project developer Newsolar Invest, engineering company CIEC Monaco and infrastructure and renewable energy project financing arranger Arborescence Capital, received a $780,000 grant from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa in March 2015 for the development of a 40MW park as the first phase of the Starsol Solar PV project.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) invites expressions of interest by 29 November from consulting firms to assist the Rural and Renewable Energy Agency to carry out a detailed environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) and resettlement action plan (RAP) for the 9.4MW Gbedin hydropower project on the St John River in Nimba County, as well as access roads and an associated 33kV distribution network

World Bank Group (WBG)’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) has agreed to invest €28.1 ($35m) in Thika Power Ltd to help develop an 87MW heavy fuel oil plant near Nairobi.