Search results

A construction start  is expected in Q3 2021 at the 4.22MW run-of-river Bihongora Hydro  IPP in the valley of the Bihongora River in Rubavu District, Western Province – provided Covid-19 doesn’t cause further unexpected delays, East African Power (EAP) projects director John Lee Pattinson told African Energy.

Concession agreements have been signed for Democratic Republic of Congo’s Essor programme, which are expected to facilitate $100m of investment into remote grids. The approach has been mooted as a more sustainable way to promote isolated grids and more concessions could be on the way, writes Dan Marks.

Canada’s Orezone Gold Corporation has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the United States’ Genser Energy, via its Genser Energy Burkina SA subsidiary, for the development of a 39.4MW hybrid off-grid power plant at its Bomboré gold project near Mogtédo in Ganzourgou province, some 85km east of Ouagadougou. Bomboré is the largest undeveloped gold deposit in Burkina Faso.

Power project monitoring and data service African Energy Live Data is pleased to give an update on new features that will be added to the platform over the next 12 months.

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Rockefeller Foundation announced a new partnership on 16 June, with the aim of investing $150m from the foundation in blended finance transactions. The investments are intended to facilitate up to $2bn of private sector investment in distributed renewable energy systems by reducing the risk using grants and concessional loans.

Lagos-based commercial and industrial (C&I) solar power provider Starsight Energy on 14 July announced that Paul van Zijl was joining as group chief financial officer;

Rio Tinto announced on 26 July that it has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with CrossBoundary Energy for the development of a renewable hybrid project to supply its QIT Madagascar Minerals’ (QMM) ilmenite mine in Fort Dauphin

Construction at the 2.5MW Kaiha II hydropower plant in Liberia got under way in July, project deputy executive director Stephen Potter of the Rural and Renewable Energy Agency tells African Energy Live Data.

Kenya-based PowerGen has secured funding to develop 28 solar PV and battery-powered mini-grids in west and south-west regions of Nigeria, in a two-stage financing process.

The malaise in most of the continent’s generation industries continued in Q1 2021, even though work resumed on most power projects which were held back by the pandemic in 2020. New data show that solar technology is spreading too slowly and in too few areas to meet the expectations of energy transition advocates, according to analysis of the latest figures from African Energy Live Data by Dan Marks.

Work has started at the 25MWp Bangui solar PV and battery plant, the World Bank Group (WBG)’s Boris Ngouagouni told African Energy.

Independent power producer (IPP) Solgas Energy has connected its flagship project, the 5MW Cross Mabale power plant in Hwange, to the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority grid. 

The Brilho off-grid renewables initiative, managed by Dutch development organisation SNV,  has launched its second call for applications.

Investec Property has announced plans for a 5.25MW rooftop solar PV project in Corbunia Mall, Durban, which it has dubbed the continent’s largest rooftop solar project.

Off-grid energy company Bboxx is launching a cheaper product range to target poorer customers, amid a fall in incomes across Africa for the first time in a decade and supply chain issues with China.