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Actis and Mainstream Renewable Power joint venture Lekela Power has taken over the 158MW Taiba Ndiaye Wind Project. Lekela said in a 22 June statement that it had acquired codevelopment rights and sole rights to invest in the project, which was being developed by American Capital Energy & Infrastructure, and French wind and solar power developer Sarreole with support from the US Power Africa initiative. A power purchase agreement for the wind farm was signed with Société Nationale d’Electricité du Sénégal in December 2013.

Eskom has given South Africa’s Romano Group an engineering, procurement and construction contract for a 360kW peak solar photovoltaic system to be installed on the roof of Eskom’s Megawatt Park head office in Johannesburg. So far in 2013, Romano has commissioned four rooftop PV projects in South Africa: two in Cape Town and two in Johannesburg.

Two reports published at the Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP)’s Second Stakeholder Meeting, held in Milan on 17-18 May, showed key sectors of the continent’s energy industries in a period of transition. The AEEP’s Status Report Update 2016 records some achievements, but also several worrying shortfalls in performance. This means some of the AEEP’s 2020 Political Targets agreed at the Africa-EU Lisbon summit in 2007 might not be met.

eThala Management Services has issued a general procurement notice for its 10MW eThala biomass project in Harding, Kwa-Zulu Natal. eThala will use a project preparation grant from the African Development Bank-administered Sustainable Fund for Africa (Sefa) to fund preliminary studies.

Berlin-based pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar provider Mobisol announced on 27 June that it has acquired Lumeter, one of the largest providers of PAYG software for the off-grid solar industry. Mobisol said the combined company creates an unrivalled player with strong pricing power and expertise in the metering sector for stand-alone solar systems and mini-grids. Following this acquisition, the Mobisol platform now supports more than 500,000 people globally with access to clean, reliable and affordable power, Mobisol said.

Renewable energy developer eleQtra’s Ivorian subsidiary Kokumbo Energies has selected US firm Knight Piésold to conduct a feasibility study for a 27.7MW run-of-river hydropower project on the Bandama River in Gagnoa district. The study will be funded with a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). The project is expected to be completed and operational in early 2022, USTDA said.

China’s Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Company has won a contract to supply turbines to a 51MW wind farm being developed by HydroChina International Engineering Company in central Ethiopia

The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) is seeking bids from local or international operators to upgrade, finance, operate and maintain 15 micro hydropower plants with a combined capacity of nearly 15MW under 25-year concessions. Concessionaires will receive revenue from the sale of electricity generated by the plants under 25-year power purchase agreements to be signed with Energy Utility Company Limited, a subsidiary of the state-owned Rwanda Energy Group. A share of the revenue will be paid to the government as an annual concession fee. The 15 plants have been offered in two separate tenders.

There is growing optimism over the campaign to promote renewables as a means of loosening dependency on imported fuels and creating a more sustainable environment. Other North African states are also accelerating renewables plans, but conventional construction is also being promoted as governments struggle to upgrade services

The Project Coordination and Management Unit (UCM) of the Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity invites bids by 17 July for the extension of the Lungudi hydropower plant in Tshikapa in the south- western province of Kasai. The Lungudi 2 project is be financed by the African Development Bank group as part of the Governance Improvement and Access to Electricity Sector Project.

Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), the country’s largest tea management agency, has secured $55m in financing to construct seven small hydropower plants totalling 17.4MW. The loan was arranged by the International Finance Corporation, in partnership with the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, the Netherlands’ FMO and France’s Proparco.The funding will allow work on the 1.8MW Lower Nyamindi, 1.5MW Iraru and 2MW South Mara projects, whose construction started in 2015, to be completed, and pave the way for work on the 2MW Nyambunde, 1.5MW Kiringa, 3.6MW Kipsonoi and 5MW Nyamasege projects to start in 2016.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has invited expressions of interest by 8 August from eligible consultants to prepare policy, regulations and an enabling framework to promote market-driven green mini-grids. The contract is to be financed from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, which is administered by the African Development Bank, for the Green Mini-Grid (GMG) Country Support Programme.

Nordex Group announced on 12 September that it will supply 80 AW125/3150 wind turbines to Enel Green Power’s 138MW Garob and Elawan’s 102MW Copperton projects. In total, 46 turbines are being supplied to Garob and 34 to Copperton. The contract includes delivery and installation as well as service contracts.

Spanish wind power developer Gamesa has announced that it has been awarded a turnkey contract to build the 220MW Gulf of El Zayt wind farm on the Red Sea coast. The project was one of 28 wind power projects prequalified by the New and Renewable Energy Authority in January and will comprise 110 2MW G80 turbines supplied by Gamesa. The Spanish company will install and commission the turbines starting from September and will be responsible for civil engineering, construction of electrical infrastructure, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for three years.

The 2.7MW Rwaza run-of-river hydropower plant being built by responsAbility Renewable Energy Holding (rAREH) will be ready for operation by end-2018, German development bank KfW said on 10 July. Located along the River Mukungwa, in northern Rwanda’s Musanze district, the $8m unit has been in planning since 2013, but was delayed through lack of funds. rAREH became involved in 2014, working with local developer DC Hydropower (which is supported by the US Power Africa Initiative) and Denmark’s Frontier Investment Management via its DI Frontier Market Energy and Carbon Fund.