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The African Development Bank has outlined plans to invest more than $1bn in energy projects in Tanzania by 2020 in its 2016-2020 Country Strategy Paper, which was approved on 24 February. The projects are expected to attract a further $1.2bn investment from other organisations. Projects expected to be approved this year include a $563m 100MW geothermal development project, the $370m 87MW Kakono hydropower project, the $27.6m Bagamoyo Rural Infrastructure Development project, and the $69m Energy Sector Reform Programme. The $660m North-West transmission grid, $138m 45MW Malagarasi hydro project, and the $86m Songwe Basin Infrastructure Development project.

US solar developer Renewvia Energy will commission three solar and battery-powered micro-grids on islands in Lake Victoria over the next six months, providing power for around 4,000 homes and businesses. A system on Ringiti island in Homa Bay is likely to begin operating this month and another on Ndeda island in Siaya county in May. The final grid on Mahanga island, also in Siaya county, will come online around July.

Eskom has announced that the first seven wind turbines at its 100MW Sere wind farm were commissioned on 10 October. “The achievement of this milestone is in line with our target date of December 2014 and we remain on track to be in full commercial operation by end-March 2015,” said senior general manager for renewables Ayanda Nakedi. The R2.5bn ($227m) plant is expected to produce 298,000MWh/yr. Meanwhile, Italy’s Moncada Energy Group has completed the R1.75bn 75MW De Aar 3 solar photovoltaic power plant in the Northern Cape.

Swiss renewable energy developer meeco has signed a cooperation agreement with Malagasy conglomerate Groupe Filatex to build a series of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects. The partners will initially build, own and operate two utility-scale PV power plants with nominal capacities of 7MW and 8MW, and one hybrid solar diesel project comprising two units with a nominal capacity of 500kWp each.

The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group, has signed a $27m loan agreement for the 16.5MW Kikagati run-of-river hydropower project. The plant, which is under construction, is located on the Kagera River on the border between Uganda and Tanzania. The anticipated 113GWh/yr will be sold to the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company, which will sell half on to Tanzania.The Netherlands’ FMO was lead arranger for the senior debt, signing its $27m portion in February.

Norway’s Scatec Solar has announced an agreement to take over the 100MW Nova Scotia project in Dutse, Jigawa State. The project had been under development for two years by Canada’s CPCS Development International, a company with projects in Nigeria and Uganda, and Nigerian consultancy Business Process Solutions Consult. A power purchase agreement was signed with Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading on 21 July.

Construction got under way in January at a 60MW wind farm in the Goubet region near Lake Assal. Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Climate Fund Managers (CFM), the Netherlands’ FMO and Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority’s Great Horn Investment Holdings (GHIH) announced on 12 February that they were using bridge financing to speed up development, an approach AFC has also taken with the 44MW Singrobo-Ahouaty hydropower project in Côte d’Ivoire.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is considering providing and arranging up to $253m in financing for Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited, the concessionaire of the Kainji and Jebba hydropower plants on the Niger River. IFC’s proposed investment will include a senior loan facility (IFC A Loan) of up to $132m and mobilising convertible debt of up to $121m.

Nasarawa State Government has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Nigerian company Kuber Power Ltd (KPL) to build a 200MW solar power project on Shendam Road in Lafia, according to a 9 May announcement on Facebook. The announcement said the PPA had been signed on an eligible customer basis. Nasarawa State will own 2.5% of the project, which it says will cost $300m. KPL expects to be onsite within seven weeks. KPL is owned by Kuber Power Africa and Nigerian consultancy firm Bowie Hertz and Company Ltd.

Drilling has begun at the site of the Aluto geothermal power plant expansion project phase III. The project to expand the 7MW pilot plant operating on the site will involve drilling 20 deep geothermal wells, installing a heat-gathering system, and building a 70MW power plant and switchyard and a 13km 132kV transmission line from the power plant to Adami Tulu, where a new substation will be built. A feasibility study for generation of power from the Aluto Langano geothermal field was conducted in March 2010 by Ernst and Young ShinNihon LLC, Japan External Trade Organisation and West Japan Engineering Consultants.

Minister of Energy Dikobe Ben Martins told reporters at an energy roundtable in Johannesburg on 11 February that a deadline of end-March had been agreed for requests for proposals to be issued for the baseload and cogeneration independent power producer procurement process. Procurement will be in line with ministerial determinations published in December 2012; 2,652MW gas, 2,609MW hydropower and 2,500MW coal for the baseload programme, 800MW cogeneration from biomass, industrial waste and combined heat and power sources. Additionally the department plans to procure 474MW of short term natural gas as indicated by the Medium-Term Risk Mitigation plan.

President Edgar Lungu has said Zambia wants to reduce the dominance of Zesco and attract more private investment into the power sector as he inaugurated the 47.5MW Bangweulu solar independent power plant in the Lusaka South Multi-Facility Economic Zone.“For a long time, the electricity company (Zesco) held on to a time when it was the only player in the energy sector, expecting to do all the generation projects. However, the electricity company should be ready for other investors to venture into energy generation,” Lungu said in remarks at the 11 March launch ceremony.

The Ministry of Energy has been working with the European Union Energy Initiative-Partnership Dialogue Facility (EUEI-PDF) to develop a national strategy and action plan for the electricity sector and to prepare a renewable energy law. According to EUEI-PDF – which held an energy business dialogue meeting in Djibouti on 29-30 May, under the auspices of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP) – Djibouti “is endowed with a high renewable energy potential, which has led the country to develop stringent targets to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2035”.

Denham Capital’s Themis Group announced on 26 May that it has issued full notice to proceed with construction of the 44MW Singrobo-Ahouaty hydropower plant on the Bandama River. The €195m ($213m) project is being developed by Themis, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), and Ivoire Hydro Energy Holding, which is majority owned by local entrepreneur and engineer Ekolan Alain Etty. The plant is expected to begin operating in March 2023.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) on 26 April approved a €115m ($152m) financial package for the 300MW Lake Turkana wind power project. The AfDB is mandated lead arranger for the project and expects to raise more than €127m senior debt and a further €58m subordinated debt once the project is officially launched in May.