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El Sewedy Electric Company chief executive Ahmed El Sewedy travelled to Dar es Salaam in mid-August to lobby President Samia Suluhu Hassan for a possible extension of the June 2022 completion date for the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project. The Egyptian entrepreneur also mooted possible investments elsewhere in the country.

Engineering, procurement and construction contractor Siemens Gamesa has told African Energy that ten of the 60MW Ghoubet wind plant’s 17 SG3.4-132 turbines have been installed; full installation is expected by early October.

Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) is halting support for two solar PV projects after grid impact assessments found that existing infrastructure was insufficient to evacuate power from them.

Dutch development bank FMO has closed a $2.1m follow-on investment in off-grid solar company D.light.

Much of the analysis of Gerd still refers to the project as having 6GW generation capacity. African Energy Live Data’s figure is lower at 4.9GW. The reason for this is simple: the project was derated in 2020, as noted in a report from the Italian main contractor Webuild (formerly Salini Impregilo).

A rarity until a few years ago, battery and renewable power plants have more recently outcompeted fossil fuel projects without subsidy in several African markets. The AIX: Financing Battery Storage meeting heard about the extent Bess projects are making headway, despite financiers’ reservations.

In a 5 October update, the World Bank Group (WBG) said the Comoros Solar Energy Integration Platform project had been cancelled and all financing agreements terminated. The project was approved by the WBG board in June 2020 and a financing agreement was signed by the WBG’s International Development Association (IDA) and the Comoros government in August 2020.

Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower) has invited prequalification bids for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work on the 40MW Rosh Pinah wind project, which is expected to consist of 16 2.5MW wind turbines. It is located in the Sperrgebiet National Park. Environmental impact assessment contractor Enviro Dynamics began public consultations in late February 2020.

President Félix Tshisekedi’s promotion of potentially radical change has accelerated since the appointment in April of Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge, and the end of his alliance of convenience with the pro-Kabila Front Commun pour le Congo coalition (AE 433/23).

Soundings are under way with potential strategic investors to take a major equity stake in the planned 1.5GW Mphanda Nkuwa (MNK) hydroelectric power (HEP) project, with a request for proposals from potential build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) partners to be issued possibly as soon as December, but more likely in early 2022

A reduction in Nigerian governmental support for the Azura Edo gas project may allow the revival of 14 solar PV projects which signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET) in 2016, but which have been on life support since then because of the sector’s financial difficulties. There have been various attempts to resuscitate the solar programme, including an attempt earlier this year to fast-track five projects through negotiations with the Ministry of Finance, but none have yet met with success.

Kenya has been a significant bellwether for international investors and an example of the increasing need to invest in community engagement and avoid short cuts in environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) procedures. As one Kenyan specialist told the October 2019 AIX: Nairobi conference, a power developer could be greeted initially with a welcome dance or by herders carrying Kalashnikovs – investors needed to be suitably prepared .

Lansarine, Tebourba-based cheese-maker Centrale des Produits Laitiers – CPL Souani inaugurated an 85kWp roof-mounted PV plant on 9 December, saying it will cover up to 60% of its electricity needs during daylight hours.

Tunis-based developer Tunur’s history shows how far the concept of export-led renewable energy (RE) development has advanced over the past decade. Parent company Nur Energies’ founder and chairman Kevin Sara was among the early champions of generating solar power in North Africa for sale to Europe.

The African Development Bank (AfDB), the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG)’s Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) and France’s Proparco have joined the 34MW Djermaya solar PV project , which will also include a 4MWh battery system. The trio signed a loan agreement on 26 November, with the AfDB committing €18m ($20.3m) and the EAIF and Proparco each providing €9.3m in senior debt.