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Zambia and Zimbabwe plan an investment conference on 28 February in Lusaka to attract investors to finance and build the 2,400MW Batoka Gorge hydropower project on the Zambezi River.The two countries plan to build the project as an independent power producer using a special purpose vehicle under the supervision of the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA). The conference aims to attract development finance institutions, bilateral partners and local, regional and multinational private sector organisations. African Development Bank president Akinwumi Adesina is expected to be among the keynote speakers.

Dubai-based Phanes Group, a solar power developer and investment manager founded in 2012, has announced plans for three 100MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants. The company was among those to sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading in July for its Sokoto project in Sokoto State. The first 50MW phase is expected in Q1 2018, with the second 50MW added by end-2018. According to Phanes Group, solar irradiation in Sokoto is among the best in the country, at 2,210kWh/m2/yr.

State power utility Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) invites expressions of interest by 28 July from consultants to provide technical assistance for the development of large renewable energy projects through a public auction process. The four-year assignment, financed by the Agence Française de Développement under the European Union-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund, will support EDM in procuring technical studies aimed at identifying potential renewable energy projects, and setting up and implementing an auction process.

France’s Proparco has approved a loan of €34.5m ($37.8m) to finance the construction and operation of the 30MW Senergy solar photovoltaic power plant. The plant will be built near Méouane, in the Thiès region, and commissioning is scheduled for early 2017. Proparco’s 18-year loan will also finance the construction of grid connection infrastructure for state utility Senelec, which has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with the developers.

Société Tunisienne d’Electricité et du Gaz (Steg) has launched a tender for the construction of a 10MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) plant at Tozeur in the south-west of the country. Bids are invited by 24 June for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of the plant, and the training of Steg staff in the installation, operation and maintenance of solar PV projects.The estimated €20m ($26.8m) project, co-financed by German development bank KfW and the European Union Neighbourhood Investment Facility, will be the first utility-scale solar PV project in the country.

Mauritius-based Tembo Power announced on 16 April the appointment of the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund and Finnfund as senior debt lenders for the 14.7MW Kaptis run-of-river hydropower project in western Kenya. Ninety One, formerly Investec Asset Management, will act as mandated lead arranger for the financing. The project will require $30m in debt financing to bring it through the final design, planning and construction phases, with a targeted commercial start date in Q3 2022, according to Tembo Power.

Conceived by the German development bank KfW and Deutsche Bank to support private sector investment in the development of small-scale, on-grid renewable energy projects in emerging markets, the Global Energy Transfer Feed-in Tariffs (Get FiT) programme is set to launch later this year in Zambia, with preparations under way for its future implementation in Mozambique, according to senior project managers at KfW. Get FiT will see the installation of new clean energy capacity while allowing both countries to begin diversifying their generation mixes.

Energy minister Mohamed Arkab has been trying to give a sense of dynamism across the Algerian industry, if not always convincingly. While decisions on much-anticipated tenders have dragged on – or have disappointed – it was something of a surprise when Arkab announced that Algeria was involved in a move to revive the Desertec Energy Initiative as a means of substantially increasing solar power production.

Cameroon-based solar home system provider upOwa closed a €2.5m ($2.8m) series A2 funding round in December. The UK government-funded Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) led the round alongside French family office Colam Impact. Existing investors also participated, including off-grid-specialised private equity company Persistent, French impact investor Gaia Impact Fund and venture capital company Inco. Crowd-funded equity was also raised through LITA.co.

The Ministry of Energy has announced plans to build eight solar photovoltaic power plants in seven regions of the country totalling 100MW of new capacity. The plans, presented to a cabinet meeting on 24 January, aim to increase electricity supply in the Central (10MW and 20MW), Sahel (15MW), East (10MW), Boucle du Mouhoun (15MW), Hauts-Bassins (10MW), North (10MW) and Cascades (10MW) regions. The projects will require sites ranging in size from 20 to 60 hectares, and the cabinet has agreed to take steps to secure the land.

Telecoms company MTN is extending its partnership with energy and financial services firm Fenix International to launch pay-to-own solar home systems in Zambia. The Swedish embassy in Lusaka is committing SEK24.75m ($3m) to the project between now and 2020, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is contributing $750,000. Fenix expects to reach 850,000 rural Zambians by 2020 with its ReadyPay Power solar home system, which gives off-grid customers access to affordable solar power.

The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources invites expressions of interest by 31 July from qualified consultants to assist with the rehabilitation and expansion of the Mobayi-Mbongo hydropower plant on the Ubangi River. The contract, which is to be financed by the World Bank’s International Development Association under the Electricity Access and Service Expansion Project, entails the preparation of detailed design and economic and financial feasibility studies for the rehabilitation and expansion of the hydropower plant as well as preparation of tender documents for the rehabilitation works and supervision of the project.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is leading a $365m financing package to support Eskom’s effort to build a significant renewables component into its multi-billion dollar development programme

The Niger Solar Electricity Access Project, agreed this summer by the World Bank Group, commits $45.55m in soft International Development Association credits for a programme costing nearly $50m. One of Africa’s poorest countries will receive support for stand-alone solar systems ($7m), rural electrification through service-based solar hybrid mini-grids ($8.2m) and the hybridisation of isolated thermal mini-grids and expansion of access ($22.46m); there is also $7.89m for implementation support and technical assistance.

The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has shortlisted three international contractors for the spillway rehabilitation of the Kariba dam – China Gezhouba Group Company Limited, GE Hydro France and an Italian joint venture of CMC di Ravenna and ATB Riva Calzoni.The prequalified companies will be invited to bid for the works tender, marking the final lap of the spillway rehabilitation procurement process. The tender closes on 21 June, and the contract is expected to be awarded by Q4 2018.