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The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) have announced an $8m loan for a 2.1MW run-of-river hydropower plant in River Gee County. The project, to be developed by the Rural and Renewable Energy Agency, will benefit over 30,000 people through providing a clean, reliable and affordable source of energy to households, schools, health facilities and small businesses. The project will directly contribute to achieving the national rural electrification goal of 35% by 2030, Irena said.

Office National de l’Electricité et de l’Eau Potable (ONEE) invites bids by 25 March for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of hydromechanical and electrical rehabilitation works at the Bin El Ouidane and Ait Ouarda dams on the El Abid River in the Béni Mellal-Khénifra region. The contracted work, which is expected to take 18 months, is to be financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which agreed in November 2015 to provide a sovereign-guaranteed loan of up to €35m ($39m) to finance the ONEE Hydro Rehabilitation Project.

The Southern African Power Pool project advisory unit (Sapp-PAU) is evaluating expressions of interest from consultants for a detailed bankable feasibility study for the construction of a 627MW hydropower station on the Luapula River and associated transmission lines to evacuate the power to both Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo (AE 335/10). Sapp-PAU senior transaction adviser Omar Vajeth said the unit would issue a request for proposals to the shortlisted bidders. Zambia’s Zesco and DRC’s Société Nationale d’Electricité (Snel) asked the Sapp Coordination Centre (Sapp-CC) to help them develop the project, following an intergovernmental memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in July 2015 by Zambia and DRC, along with an inter-utility MoU between Zesco and Snel.

New York-based start-up Soluna Technologies, run by serial entrepreneur John Belizaire and backed by US private equity company Brookstone Partners, is raising funds to develop the first phase of an eventual 900MW wind farm site near Dakhla in the disputed Western Sahara, which is under Moroccan administration but still subject to a United Nations decolonisation mandate.Soluna is bringing in investors to develop the first 36MW of the scheme, which at the outset will be entirely off-grid.

Chinese solar PV manufacture ReneSola announced on 4 April that it had signed a toll manufacturing agreement with France’s Solairedirect to produce 120MW of solar modules over three years at its facility in South Africa. The deal will see Solairedirect purchasing 20MW of modules for its own projects in South Africa and a further 34MW for use internationally.

The formal process of awarding four solar photovoltaic (PV) projects with combined capacity of 70MW at Salima, Nkhotakota, Lilongwe and Golomoti was suspended on 12 June following a formal application for review by one of the bidders. “We are hopeful that this matter will be sorted within 14 days and the suspension will be uplifted in order to make progress with these transactions,” Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) spokeswoman Kitty Chingota told African Energy.

The Energy Commission has asked for expressions of interest (EoIs) for grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) or wind projects in the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and Volta regions.

Ghana’s 7 December election came at a critical juncture for the country. Outgoing president John Dramani Mahama and his National Democratic Congress government have left a mixed legacy, with numerous energy projects of varying quality and national utilities in dire need of reform. His successor, Nana Akufo-Addo, of the more business-oriented New Patriotic Party (NPP) inherits a sector in which key decisions over future gas supply, the generation mix and the reform of state utilities will need to be made.

Minister of energy, mines and renewable energy Hela Cheikhrouhou has launched the first phase of a three-phase independent power producer programme for renewables. Companies have been invited to submit proposals for wind and solar projects amounting to a maximum of 210MW capacity by November this year and August next year. Subsequent phases will involve concessions for larger plants, which will be awarded by competitive tender, and the licensing of pure private sector schemes.

InnoSun has signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with national utility NamPower for the 4.5MW Omaruru solar photovoltaic (PV) project and the 6MW Lüderitz wind farm. InnoSun is the Namibia-based subsidiary of French developer InnoVent, whose chief executive and founder Grégoire Verhaeghe told African Energy that Omaruru, which will use single-axis tracker panels, is expected to begin operating in August 2016, followed a month or two later by Lüderitz. InnoSun will carry out the engineering, procurement and construction work using in-house expertise built up developing wind and solar power projects in France.

Canadian power project developer Windiga Energy expects to reach financial close and begin construction on a 20MW solar power plant by year-end, despite 12 months of political upheaval in the country. Windiga has been developing the project in Zina, Mouhoun province, since the company was established as part of miner Semafo’s corporate social responsibility policy in 2010.Long-time ruler Blaise Compaoré was forced out by popular protests in October 2014. Elections had been planned for October 2015, but the country was pitched into uncertainty following a short-lived coup attempt in September 2015 led by Compaoré ally General Gilbert Diendéré. Diendéré is now a prisoner in Paspanga military camp, and elections are scheduled for 29 November.

Saigrene Energy Kenya has received a grant of $1,235,560 from the US Trade and Development Agency supporting the development of run-of-river hydroelectric plants at five sites totalling 17MW. The grant will fund a feasibility study, to be carried out by Denver-based engineering and environmental consultancy Knight Piésold, that will evaluate the viability of the sites for power generation and examine the best approach for connecting the sites to the national grid.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is inviting project developers looking for investment in project preparation to submit short initial proposals to the agency by 26 September. As the implementing agency for Power Africa and the US-Africa Clean Energy Finance initiatives, the USTDA is targeting projects that will develop renewable or gas capacity, modernise electricity grids, or improve energy efficiency.

The Climate Investment Funds, set up by a group of major multilaterals, has approved in principle a total of $40m in near-zero-interest loans and grants for Mali to scale up solar PV, mini-hydro and biofuel technologies

Société Tunisienne d’Electricité et du Gaz (Steg) has launched an international tender for the engineering, procurement and construction of a second 10MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) park at Tozeur in the south-west of the country. Bids are invited by 20 December for the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the Tozeur II plant, as well as its connection to the 150/33-kV Tozeur substation.