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The most abundant element on earth, hydrogen, already has industrial uses, but it could do much more to transform the global energy mix as industrialised economies and the global south decarbonise. Judged by the welter of governmental and corporate statements, hydrogen is featuring large in the thoughts of planners and project promoters. These range from Chinese hydrocarbons giant Sinopec’s plans to reallocate some of its Rmb87bn ($13bn) cash pile to projects “all along the hydrogen chain” to Australian junior miner AVZ Minerals’ green lithium mine project at Manono in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Brighter Life Kenya 1 Ltd (BLK1), a local currency off-balance sheet financing vehicle servicing solar home system (SHS) company d.light design inc, has been expanded to $127m following a $15m investment by Norfund.

Revised in January 2021, this map provides a detailed overview of the power sector in Ghana. The locations of power generation facilities that are operating, under construction or planned are shown by type – including liquid fuels, gas and liquid fuels, natural gas, coal, hydroelectricity, solar (PV), wind, thermal, wave and biomass/biogas. Offshore oil and gas fields are also shown. Existing and future transmission and distribution lines are included ranging from 161kV to 330kV. Actual and planned cross-border interconnectors are also shown including lines to Côte d'Ivoire, Togo and Burkina Faso. Power generation data was drawn from our African Energy Live Data platform, which contains project level detail on power plants and projects across Africa. The map is available as a PDF file using eps graphics, meaning that there is no loss of resolution as the file is enlarged.

China CAMC Engineering Company (CAMCE) has begun construction of the 240km, 220kV Garsen-Hola-Garissa single-circuit transmission line at Garsen in south-east Kenya. A launch ceremony for the project was held on 25 November and work got under way at year-end. The project is financed by the Export-Import Bank of China and the government of Kenya and will cost around $44.9m, according to an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) submitted to the National Environmental Management Authority on behalf of Ketraco by local consultants Log Associates.

The National Agency of Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG) announced on 31 December that it would formally launch its postponed 2020 licensing round covering onshore blocks in the Lower Congo and Kwanza basins on 30 April. A formal launch had been planned for May 2020 but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

German development bank KfW has increased its equity investment in the Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI) from $28m to $52m, FEI announced on 12 January. This brings FEI’s total equity base to $145m and the potential fund size to $400m, as well as marking final close for its equity raise. First close was achieved in December 2019.

Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) announced on 9 December that it has signed power purchase agreements with six small IPPs. The projects include the 10MW Kahama and 5MW Kigoma solar projects and the 0.36MW Ijangala Falls, 0.9MW Luponde, 1.7MW Madope and 1.2MW Maguta hydropower projects. The agreements give the IPPs 18 months to begin commercial operations.

Actis’ BioTherm Energy announced the commissioning in December of the 120MW Golden Valley wind farm in the Eastern Cape. Commercial operations are expected in Q1 2021 and the plant is expected to produce 477GWh/yr.

Bboxx and French utility EDF have announced a partnership to distribute solar irrigation pumps in Togo. EDF affiliated company SunCulture will supply the pumps which will be integrated with Bboxx’s payment and management technology to allow the cost to be spread over time. Togo has had success attracting investment into its off-grid sector through the Cizo programme. Bboxx, which has head offices in Rwanda and London and operations across Africa and Asia, was the first solar home system (SHS) company to become part of the programme that aims to provide power to 300,000 households over five years. 

Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is requesting expressions of interest from consultants to produce a study on the impact of providing ancillary services on the company’s power plants and finances. The study is expected to take six months and submissions are due by 27 January. It will look at how frequency excursions and provision of ancillary services have affected machines as well as the financial impact on KenGen under current power purchase agreements with distribution utility Kenya Power.

Delays to the implementation of subsidy reform caused by economic stresses related to the coronavirus pandemic mean that the planned re-establishment of Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC)as a fully independent entity has been put back by three years. Local media reports say the government has postponed EETC’s formal separation from Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) from 2022 to 2025.

The G5 Sahel countries have received new support for solar generation in the Desert to Power scheme promoted by the African Development Bank (AfDB). The AfDB’s stated ambition is for the G5 Sahel countries – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, Mali and Niger – to harness their potential to create “the world’s largest solar zone”. The AfDB aims to increase on- and off-grid solar generation capacity by 10GW, to transform the livelihoods of some 250m people across the 11-state Sahel region.

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation last month announced that it would provide Nedbank Ltd with a loan of up to $200m to expand its green finance operations and portfolio of loans for renewable energy projects in South Africa.

Efforts to mitigate climate change, while electricity supply industries, transport networks and other big consumers of energy are put on a more sustainable, less carbon-intense footing, will rise sharply up the global agenda in 2021, ahead of the next big round of climate talks to be held on 1-12 November in Glasgow. This is likely to involve a rush into green bonds, new project financing and other instruments that could significantly increase the pace of Africa’s shift into a more sustainable energy future.

While most work has been suspended at Total’s Mozambique LNG project site, drilling is set to resume at Eni’s offshore Coral South development in Area 4. The National Petroleum Institute (INP) announced the arrival of the Saipem 12000 drillship at Pemba on 5 January, ready to resume drilling and completion operations. Drilling started in September 2019 but was suspended in April 2020 due to coronavirus restrictions.