Search results

Biomass producer Buchanan Renewables (BR) has been sold to an investor group, after a project to recycle old rubber trees and rejuvenate Liberia’s once world-leading rubber industry proved more challenging than expected. Stockholm-based Vattenfall and Swedish government-owned private equity company Swedfund backed the project to convert old rubber trees from the former Firestone plantation to woodchip. The woodchips were intended to fuel a 36MW biomass power plant in Monrovia, as well as being sold for export. But the scheme ran into difficulties and the Swedish backers pulled out last year.

Switzerland’s ABB announced on 4 December that it had been awarded two turnkey contracts with a combined value of $225m for the construction of the 33MW Witkop and 31MW Soutpan solar parks in Limpopo Province.

Energy minister Jeff Radebe on 4 April finally signed 27 new projects from rounds 3.5 and 4 of the renewable energy independent power producer (IPP) procurement programme. “The procurement of the 27 new projects is the biggest IPP procurement by the Department of Energy to date, representing a total of R56bn ($4bn) of investment and about 2,300MW of generation capacity to be added to the grid over the next five years,” Radebe said at the signing.

Italy’s TerniEnergia has signed a $12.5m deal to build a 10MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant near Tozeur on behalf of Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz (Steg). On 23 March, the company said this was the first plant to go ahead under the state utility’s 380MW share of the Tunisia Solar Plan. Construction will start at the end of March and will be completed in 12 months.

Namibia and Zimbabwe have signed a new 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for Zimbabwe to supply Namibia with 80MW. The PPA between NamPower and the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) forms part of ZPC’s strategy to finance expansion of the Kariba South hydropower station. The capacity of the power station is 700MW now, and will rise to approximately 980MW after the expansion. The agreement signed on 16 October will become effective once the existing Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) agreement comes to an end early in 2015.

Kangnas Wind Farm announced the installation of all 61 Siemens SWT-2.3-108 turbines on 17 March, two weeks ahead of schedule. The 140MW wind farm is expected to come online by September, generating about 563.5GWh/yr.South Africa’s Concor and Conco Group are joint engineering, procurement and construction contractors, with Siemens providing equipment, operations and services under a ten-year service agreement.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has invited funding requests by 17 April for renewable energy projects in Burkina Faso. Through the Fonds des Energies Renouvelables pour la Résilience du Burkina Faso programme, the UNCDF, with financial support from the government of Luxembourg, will offer technical and/or financial assistance to support projects that can strengthen and accelerate the growth of income-generating activities through the adoption of renewable energy (solar PV and biomass).

Renewables-focused investment bank Eaglestone has completed the acquisition of its South African joint venture Kensani Eaglestone Capital Advisory, increasing its shareholding in the firm from 50% to 77.25%, and renaming it Eaglestone Capital Advisory. The remainder of the shares will be owned by members of the local management team.

US-based, Kenya-registered rural utility developer Virunga Power invites proposals by 18 August from US-based firms to develop a feasibility study to assess the technical, environmental and social viability of three run-of-river hydroelectric plants totalling 15.7MW. The contract will be financed by the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), which has provided a $897,192 grant to Virunga Power Kenya to fund the feasibility study and environmental and social impact assessment.

Nasdaq-listed SunPower Corporation has begun construction of its 75MW (86MWp) Prieska solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Northern Cape province. The project was selected in the third round of the renewable energy independent power producer procurement (REIPPP) programme and is expected to begin full operation in 2016. Solar panels are being supplied by Sunpower Manufacturing Ltd and inverters by SMA Power One. South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), Nedbank and ABSA Bank are providing debt financing.

Algeria's Ministry of Energy considers renewable options with solar a front-runner

transition to middle-income status, writes Thalia Griffiths with François Misser New funds are flowing into Angola’s power sector as the country’s infrastructure planning reassures donors that the government is serious about development. Brazil has approved a lending package of up to $2bn for the Lauca dam being built by Odebrecht, and the African Development Bank (AfDB) board has approved a $1bn loan for the Angola Power Sector Reform Support Programme. The World Bank has also promised support. While aspects of Angola’s financial management continue to attract scrutiny from governance watchdogs, recent developments have won the trust of donors.

Uganda’s request to receive $50m from the Scaling Up Renewable Energy Programme (SREP) for low-income countries endorsed by the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) includes $6.8m to support the Rural Electrification Board’s planned wind assessment and two 10MW pilot wind farms. The 2010-15 National Development Plan called for the establishment of a wind energy database after preliminary data suggested particular potential in the northern Karamoja region. The government installed two wind measurement sets in July 2015 and intends to use SREP funds to co-finance wind measurement at six other sites in the north, mostly in Karamoja.

President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir attended an inauguration ceremony in early February to mark the commissioning of the first of four 80MW units at the Upper Atbara and Setit dam complex. The Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity said the remaining units were scheduled to begin operation in April, June and August of this year. When fully commissioned, the 320MW plant will increase Sudan’s installed generating capacity by about 13%, according to the ministry.

The 30MWac Mocuba solar PV plant in Zambézia province began operating on 30 July, developer Scatec Solar has announced. The $80m project, which is expected to generate 79GWh/yr, has been under construction since March 2018. Mocuba is located on a 120ha site at the heart of the country’s northern network. The plant will help stabilise the grid during the day and improve security of supply. Mocuba is owned by Scatec Solar (52.5%), national utility Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM, %), and KLP Norfund Investments (22.5%).