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The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has invited prequalification applications for the construction of a 10MWp grid-connected solar PV power plant, and related sub-works in Kumbotso in the northern state of Kano. Expressions of interest are sought by 3 June for a contract to undertake the design/engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance of the project, according to a tender notice published on the website of the NSIA, which manages the country’s sovereign wealth fund.

The self-proclaimed water tower of Africa has made advances in developing its hydroelectric-driven industry, adding to generation capacity and strengthening regional interconnections.

Off-grid solar start-up Zonful Energy says it has connected 3,480 households under a pay-as-you-go-solar credit scheme in rural Zimbabwe that is being rolled out from a $50,000 loan sourced from US non-profit lender Kiva. Chief executive William Ponella said his company, which launched the country’s first known pay-as-you-go-solar credit scheme in March in partnership with mobile giant Econet Wireless, aimed to switch on about 380,000 households by 2020.

The West African Power Pool Secretariat is seeking expressions of interest from consultants for the definition and implementation of a regional grid code for West Africa’s transmission network. The work is the first phase of the secretariat’s Solar Development in Sub-Saharan Africa Project, which is funded by a grant from the World Bank Group.

New petroleum, energy and renewable energy minister Abdourahmane Cissé’s approval of plans for Paris-based investment company Eranove Group to build a 390MW gas-fired power plant at Jacqueville, near Abidjan, and for Globeleq’s 430MW Azito plant to add another 253MW in a CFA225.8bn ($385m) revamp suggests an acceleration of efforts to have 4GW of installed capacity in place by the time Côte d’Ivoire goes to the polls in 2020.

GDF Suez, in partnership with Morocco’s Nareva Holding, has won a contract to build the 300MW Tarfaya wind farm. The Tarfaya farm will be developed on a build, own, operate, transfer basis and supply electricity to state utility Office National de l’Electricité et de l’Eau Potable under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

Algeria is accelerating its renewable energy development programme with the planned launch of 20 solar projects this year. The programme has fallen behind on its target of meeting 40% of energy consumption via renewables by 2030, as the authorities are still experimenting with different technologies, and pilot projects have been slow to get off the ground, but an initial focus on photovoltaic (PV) schemes has already been established and will now be pushed forward. Speaking in the troubled southern wilaya of Ghardaïa where he was inaugurating a pilot PV project on 10 July, energy minister Youcef Yousfi predicted an acceleration in the national renewables energy programme.

Multilaterals lined up to voice support for Masen’s ground-breaking CSP scheme at Ouarzazate, ahead of the global climate conference in Durban. With other solar schemes also reporting progress, Morocco’s aspirations to become a leading renewables producer are moving ahead, writes Jon Marks

Reykjavik Geothermal has signed a financing agreement with the African Union Commission for a $1.3m grant from the Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility (GRMF) to conduct surface studies at the Tulu Moye geothermal prospect. Tulu Moye covers a total area of around 200km2 with a core target area of 100km2 centred on the Tulu Moye volcano, 100km south of Addis Ababa. It is one of three prospects for which the company holds exploration licences in Ethiopia, along with Corbetti and Abaya, and will be developed as an independent power producer project.

UK-based developer Globeleq and CDC Group, which is wholly owned by the UK’s Department for International Development and owns 70% of Globeleq, announced on 11 July a $66m debt package for the 40MW Malindi solar project. Globeleq told African Energy that the focus was now on finalising outstanding conditions to reach financial close and begin construction in the coming months. CDC Group will provide a loan worth $50m, with Globeleq supplying the remaining $16m. Both loans are long term, with 16-year tenors.

Saudi-owned Acwa Power has bought into the cryptocurrency trend by becoming the first major developer to adopt a reward programme for solar generation. SolarCoin provides digital tokens for every MWh of solar energy produced. Acwa Power said the deal would “provide a supplementary means of payment for goods and services”. SolarCoin operates like other cryptocurrencies, which have to be earned or ‘mined’ in some way. Bitcoin is mined by decrypting a digital code, which requires a large amount of computer power.

Contracts must be concluded to show that renewable energy (RE) schemes are more than hot air, African Energy wrote last year. More solar and wind projects were being tendered in Morocco and South Africa’s new-found enthusiasm for RE would be confirmed if the much-anticipated first round of its Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPP) was a success (AE 215/24).

Ethiopia and Denmark signed a 1.26bn krone ($201m) loan agreement on 24 May for the 100MW Assela wind energy project in Oromia province, 150km south of Addis Ababa on the edge of the Rift Valley. Danida Business Finance will contribute 600m krone, while the balance will be secured from a Danish commercial bank. Construction of the substation and grid connection is to be financed by the African Development Bank at an estimated cost of €8.3m ($9.6m).

A prime ministerial decree has clarified the conditions under which the government will contract 4,000MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects. Contrary to expectations, the tender process does not officially include scope for extended negotiations with the preferred bidders, whose offers will be ranked according to price per kWh, although some flexibility is likely. The government has published the details unusually quickly; some of the key modalities may yet change and it is possible that the forthcoming legislative elections could create delays.

The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced in December that it would be joining the consortium developing the 100MW Singida wind project. The IFC will take a 20% stake in project company Wind East Africa alongside Aldwych International (40%) and Tanzania’s Six Telecoms (40%). The investment is being made through IFC InfraVentures, which deals with constraints to private investment in infrastructure.