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The government has approved the creation of a state-owned power producer to support its efforts to make Benin self-sufficient in electricity supply. At a meeting on 2 December, the Council of Ministers, chaired by President Patrice Talon, established the Société Béninoise de Production d’Electricité (SBPE) and approved its statutes.

Much is expected of Joe Biden after he is sworn in on 20 January; some of the anticipated policy shifts the United States’ 46th president and his administration may deliver, others they may not – including reversing some controversial policies promoted by his predecessor.

Renewable power project developers could be among the main beneficiaries of outgoing US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, providing Washington uses the decision to unlock concessionary funding. However, many investors will remain wary of piling funds into oil and other projects while the UN-led decolonisation process remains in limbo, writes John Hamilton.

Mining companies are struggling to pay the interim power tariff of $0.093/kWh to Zesco, blaming higher taxation and a harsh operating environment. The tariff was introduced in 2018 while a cost of service study was carried out. But some miners are struggling to pay their bills despite a recent surge in world copper prices and want the power price to be set once the study is completed in 2021.

Mini-grid company CrossBoundary Energy Access (CBEA) has published a white paper on its model for developing mini-grids in developing countries and will release term sheets and its template project finance model on 15 February 2021. The unusual move comes as mini-grid developers focused on rural electrification continue to face challenges with profitability and attracting investment.

The 50MW first phase of a coal-fired power plant being built by independent power producer Zimbabwe Zhongxin Electrical Energy (ZZEE) at Deka Bridge Farm in Hwange is due for completion by year-end, a government minister has told African Energy. Energy and power development minister Soda Zhemu said construction of the $50m station started last year.

A French court has dismissed an appeal by two French and four Ugandan NGOs seeking to challenge Total’s handling of the Tilenga development project. The case is the first to be brought under France’s 2017 Corporate Duty of Vigilance law, and the NGOs hope to establish a precedent with wider implications for Total and other international companies.

The UK government has announced that it will no longer provide funding for fossil fuel projects overseas as it prepares to host the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow next year. The UK has been talking up plans for a green economy as the end of the Brexit transition period approaches, and funding from UK Export Finance (UKEF) for oil and gas projects has attracted criticism at a time when Prime Minister Boris Johnson is keen to position the UK as a global leader on climate change.

ZIZ Energie has started civil works for a 2.5MW solar and 5MWh storage mini-grid in Mongo in central Chad. Work on the hybrid project began in October 2020 and the project is expected to come online by Q2 2021, supplying the city of 70,000 people 500km east of N’Djamena. ZIZ told African Energy it was the first company to use a new licensing regime introduced by law No 036 of August 2019.

Investec announced on 15 December that the 50MW ACWA Power Solafrica Bokpoort concentrated solar power plant has been refinanced, in what the bank said was the largest infrastructure refinancing to have taken place in the country. The R5bn ($335m) transaction was led by Investec and took place as part of efforts by the government and IPP Office to reduce tariffs by sharing the proceeds of refinancing.

A consortium led by Vinci Construction has signed a contract with the Gambia River Basin Development Organisation (OMVG) to build the 128MW Sambangalou hydropower dam in the Kédougou Region in south-eastern Senegal, close to the border with Guinea.

Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited (MESL), Nigeria's leading hydropower producer, has given Andritz Hydro a contract for the rehabilitation of the 2G6 unit at the Jebba power plant on the Niger River. The contracted work, which will take two years at a reported cost of around $32m, will restore to full operation the 96MW unit that has been out of service since 2009.

Tullow Oil and its partners have received licence extensions for their South Lokichar blocks 10BB and 13T to the end of 2021, following approval of the work programme and budget for next year by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum.

Woodside has opted to exercise its right to pre-empt FAR’s planned sale to ONGC Videsh of its stake in the Rufisque, Sangomar and Sangomar Deep (RSSD) joint venture. FAR, which has a 13.67% interest in the Sangomar exploitation area and a 15% interest in the remaining RSSD evaluation area, announced the discounted sale in November after failing to raise funding for its share of the development.

In a major victory for transparency campaigners, the US Congress has passed a groundbreaking measure to ban anonymous shell companies by a veto-proof majority. The Corporate Transparency Act, which was tacked on to the annual National Defense Authorization Act, will oblige corporations and limited liability companies established in the United States to disclose their real owners to the US Treasury Department.