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Eni Ghana has signed a cooperation agreement with the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (Sada) for the joint evaluation of renewable energy opportunities, including assessing the technical and economic viability of a 20MW-50MW solar PV plant in the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone (NESZ). Sada is an independent statutory corporation mandated to produce a framework for developing the NESZ. Eni has been active in Ghana since 2009, operating the offshore Cape Three Points development licence and more recently the Cape Three Points Block 4 exploration licence.

Italy’s Enel Green Power and its lead engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor TerniEnergia have announced that the 75MW Paleisheuwel solar photovoltaic plant has begun operating in the Western Cape, near Bergvaley. The facility, which was selected as a preferred bidder in the third round of the renewable energy independent power producer procurement (REIPPP) programme, is expected to produce more than 153GWh/yr. TerniEnergia Projects, a South African registered subsidiary of Italy’s TerniEnergia (80%) and South Africa’s Pele Green Energy (20%), began work on the project in March 2015.

The Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (Pida) plans to float a diaspora bond in Zimbabwe and Zambia to raise part of the funding required for the construction of the 2,400MW Batoka Gorge hydroelectric power plant in the Zambezi River Basin. The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) will visit Ethiopia in March to study and replicate how the country has used the bonds to fund the construction of its 6,000MW Grand Renaissance Dam. ZRA is a statutory company jointly owned by Zimbabwe and Zambia.

It has been a season of fundraising and new partnerships in the off-grid sector. The latest announcement, this time from Greenlight Planet, illustrates the growing scale of private investment into the sector. The company raised $60m in debt and equity, as well as announcing a partnership with a new investor, London-based private equity company Apis Partners, to focus on developing a range of products with in-built pay-as-you-go (PAYG) technology, the latest in a stream of specialist investors into the sector.

Amid the (literal) gloom, South Africa’s one widely acknowledged energy success of recent years has been its renewable energy independent power producer procurement (REIPPP) programme, which was driven by the National Treasury and its dynamic private sector specialist Karen Breytenbach, who now heads the Department of Energy’s IPP Office. REIPPP made Breytenbach an industry star, so it was of little surprise that she presided over the 8-11 June Africa Energy Forum’s most packed meeting, launching the Facilitating Investment in Renewable Small Transactions (First) programme.

Sterling and Wilson has signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract for the 170MW first phase of the Noor solar photovoltaic (PV) scheme. The Noor PV I programme, being developed by a consortium led by Acwa Power, will consist of three projects: Noor Ouarzazate IV, with a capacity of around 70MW, Noor Laayoune (80MW) and Noor Boujdour (20MW). This is the first solar PV phase of the Noor Solar Plan, which has already seen three major concentrated solar power projects in Ouarzazate.

Emerging Power (Gambia) has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with state utility National Water and Electricity Company for a 10MW solar power project. Emerging Power (Gambia) is a special purpose vehicle owned by Dubai based Z-One Holdings and French solar developer Tryba Energy. Construction is expected to begin in May, Tryba said. Z-One is a holding company with stakes in Disctech, Energy Tech Mena, Solarpraxis, Ecoprogetti, CPS Mena, CSun-MEA, juwi MEA and ZT Energy and projects in Egypt.

Wood Group subsidiary SgurrEnergy has won funding from the Scottish government to design and implement a hydroelectric scheme to supply renewable energy to an off-grid community without a reliable source of power. The Glasgow-based renewable energy consultancy will manage the design and installation of a 100kW run-of-river scheme in Mulanje, on the border with Mozambique in southern Malawi, as well as a community training programme for the operation and maintenance of the plant. The project will reduce the use of costly diesel generators firing on imported fuel and will enable the local medical clinic to use refrigerators and sterilisers and administer medical care after sunset.

Rehabilitation work at hydroelectric power stations has added 507MW to the national grid, bringing total generation to 2,700MW, according to a statement by Power Minister Lanre Babalola.

Rwanda has taken a significant step towards its target of adding 20MW of solar power by 2017, signing a memorandum of agreement with the Goldsol II consortium for the $30m construction and operation of a 10MW solar photovoltaic (PV) facility in Kayonza. The consortium signed the agreement following a competitive tender in which Goldsol II offered a tariff of RW120 ($0.18)/kWh. A feasibility study will now be conducted, which will require approval by the Energy, Water and Sanitation Authority before a power purchase agreement can be signed and construction can begin. Electricity production is expected to start in 21 months.

Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power and South Africa’s Central Energy Fund have signed an agreement to co-invest in renewable energy projects starting with the 100MW Redstone concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Northern Cape Province. The agreement was signed during a visit to Saudi Arabia by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The CSP plant, which will start construction this year, will use central salt receiver technology with 12 hours of thermal storage, allowing the plant to generate during the evening peak demand periods and producing 480,000 MWh/yr.

Tunis-based power engineering group Tragedel has contracted UK-based Clarke Energy to supply four 2.5MW heavy-duty diesel generators for a 10MW plant in Bangui. The four Kohler-SDMO KD3500-F gensets will provide baseload or peaking power to Energie Centrafricaine, Clarke Energy said on 29 November.

UK-based BBOXX has secured a $4m local currency loan from government-owned Union Togolaise de Banque (UTB) to fund the first phase of the company’s activities in Togo. The Togolese government aims to increase access to electricity from 36% in 2016 to 60% in 2022 under its Accelerated Growth and Employment Strategy. In rural areas, a government study identified 300,000 households that cannot economically be connected to the grid but which are suitable for solar home systems.

Power distributor Umeme plans a minority listing of its shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange and Nairobi Securities Exchange this year, subject to approval from market regulators. The company is 100% owned by emerging markets private equity firm Actis. Reuters said some 20% was expected to be floated

Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning on 18 May announced that it had signed a bilateral agreement with the German government for German development bank KfW to provide a €15m grant for the 147MW Ruzizi III hydropower project. The $650m project is being developed by the Agha Khan’s Industrial Promotion Services and US developer Sithe Global, under a contract awarded in 2014, and will supply Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda with 49MW each.