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US President Barack Obama’s visit to Nairobi was gilded by the signing of some major renewables agreements. The biggest numbers – $2.2bn – were affixed to the signing at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit of an agreement to develop solar projects with combined capacity of 1GW between Canada-based SkyPower, which is majority owned by US-based urban real estate and infrastructure investment firm CIM Group, and the Kenyan Ministry of Energy. The deal is structured in four phases to be rolled out over the next five years.

Kenya
Issue 403 - 07 November 2019

Mozambique: EoIs for solar studies

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The French Development Agency seeks expressions of interest by 11 November for feasibility studies for two 40MWp solar PV projects in Nampula and Niassa provinces. The project sites are being selected and secured by Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), with technical assistance from the European-funded Project for Promotion of Auctions for Renewable Energies (Proler). Each site is between 120ha and 150ha and the sites are less than 6km from their respective substations.

Mozambique
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UK-based developer Globeleq announced on 3 June that the 40MWac (52MWp) Malindi solar photovoltaic project at Langobaya in Malindi district has reached financial close. India’s Sterling and Wilson is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the plant, which is expected online in mid-2020.Globeleq acquired 90% of the project in 2017, with the remaining 10% held by the original developer Africa Energy Development Corporation, whose partner Investment and Development of East Africa Power Group (Idea Power) sold its stake at financial close.

Kenya
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Total South Africa has signed an agreement to sell LNG produced by South Africa’s Renergen through its service stations. Johannesburg-based Renergen is building South Africa’s first commercial LNG plant, with an expected start-up date in Q3 2021. Announcing the agreement on 18 June, Renergen said the customer base for the LNG will predominantly be logistics companies operating trucks along main routes across South Africa.

South Africa
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Alten Africa, a subsidiary of Spanish developer Alten Energias Renovables, announced on 13 December that it has contracted France’s Voltalia to carry out engineering, procurement and construction and operation and maintenance services for the 40MWac Kesses 1 solar photovoltaic plant near Eldoret in western Kenya.

Kenya
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Renewable energy projects are making progress as the industry waits for a government decision on whether to increase the capacity allocated to the third round of the renewable energy independent power producers procurement programme (REIPPP) and the outcome of public consultation for the revised Integrated Resource Plan (AE 268/5). While energy minister Dikobe Ben Martins barely mentioned the issue in a speech to the Energy Leaders’ Roundtable on 11 February, an extended third bid round for concentrated solar power is due to take place in March. Bid registration will take place on 3 March with submissions due on 31 March.

South Africa
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The Zimbabwean State Procurement board has announced the winners of three contracts to build 100MW solar photovoltaic power plants in the country. Local company Intratrek Zimbabwe and its engineering, procurement and construction partner China’s Chint Electric are set to develop a plant near Gwanda. The other winners are China’s ZTE Corporation, which will develop a plant near Insukamini, and Number 17 Metallurgical China, with a plant near Munyati. The projects are believed to be worth $160m-200m each. Construction is expected to take about 18 months to complete.

Zimbabwe
Issue 375 - 31 August 2018

Chad: PPA for Djermaya solar

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A consortium of InfraCo Africa and Smart Energies International signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) on 9 August with the Ministry of Energy and Société Nationale d’Electricité (SNE) for the 60MWp Djermaya Solar project. “The PPA marks a key milestone in the development of Djermaya Solar, enabling the project to raise construction financing and demonstrating the joint commitment of all parties to developing renewable energy in Chad,” InfraCo said.

Chad
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Cyprus-based Karo Mining Holdings will partner Mauritian independent power producer Argentum Energy to roll out a phased 300MW solar power plant in the Chegutu platinum mining area. Karo is developing a large-scale, vertically integrated platinum group metals (PGM) mining complex, which will include a platinum mine, a refinery and a coal mine. The project is being developed in partnership with the government of Zimbabwe under an Investment Project Framework Agreement signed on 22 March 2018.

Zimbabwe
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Given the REIPPP’s reliance on Eskom’s intractable financial situation, focus seems to be shifting towards stimulating the embedded or household solar photovoltaic (PV) market, which the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) estimated could produce as much as 22.5GW by 2030. However, the sector faces a number of challenges. According to South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (Sapvia) chief executive Moeketsi Thobela, many municipalities are concerned about the loss of revenue a significant uptake of embedded solar PV systems would entail. The regulatory framework lacks clarity, particularly with regard to licensing, and concerns continue about inadequate safety standards relating to the wiring of low-voltage connections.

South Africa
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American Capital Energy & Infrastructure (ACEI), part of publicly traded private equity company American Capital Ltd, has announced that it will invest €76m ($85m) in a project to develop a 151.8MW wind farm in Senegal. The wind farm will be located in Taiba Ndiaye, around 75km north-east of Dakar, and will cost an estimated €305m. French wind and solar power developer Sarreole will retain a minority stake. The balance of the funding is anticipated from senior and mezzanine lenders. ACEI director of Africa investments Lisa Pinsley told African Energy the project aimed to reach financial close towards the end of the year.

Senegal
Issue 382 - 06 December 2018

South Africa: R3bn loan for Redstone CSP

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The African Development Bank (AfDB) board on 30 November approved a R3bn ($216m) senior loan for the 100MW Redstone plant at the Humansrus solar park in the Northern Cape, which is being developed by Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power. The plant will use a molten salt central tower with around 12 hours or 1.2GWh of storage capacity. SolarReserve will supply the core technology for the project, including its ThermaVault molten salt solar thermal system.

South Africa
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Enel Green Power has started production from the 66MW Tom Burke solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Limpopo province. The plant was awarded in the third round of the renewable energy independent power producer procurement (REIPPP) programme, and brings Enel’s installed capacity in South Africa to nearly 160MW.

South Africa
Free

Find ways to store the electricity generated from solar, wind and other renewables, and these technologies may cease to be ‘intermittent’ sources of power – a game-changer that is expected to transform Africa’s electricity supply industry in the next decade or two. “Storage will make a lot of difference to the shape of the grid,” observed Gravitricity managing director and co-founder Charlie Blair, predicting that networks will emerge “without big spines and instead more of a nodal system”.

Issue 326 - 24 June 2016

Guinea: Power cuts return

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The start-up of the Kaléta dam in mid 2015 improved power supply for several months but low water levels mean that only one of the dam’s three turbines is able to operate. With insufficient thermal capacity to fill the gap, power cuts have again become commonplace in outlying districts of Conakry. An Electricité de Guinée (EDG) official told African Energy almost all the country’s available capacity at present is being produced by thermal plants in Conakry.

Guinea