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The Western Cape Government on 24 November launched a three-year Municipal Energy Resilience Project that will help municipalities in the province take advantage of new energy regulations. The provincial government led by the opposition Democratic Alliance has been pushing the national authorities to move more quickly to allow power procurement by municipalities as supply from bulk supplier Eskom has deteriorated.

The Ministry of Power, Rural Electrification Agency and the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission on 30 November signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the Green Energy Investment Platform, a one-stop shop for renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Niger Delta Power Holding Company executive director for generation Abdullahi Kassim has said the company is about to begin an audit of the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) power plants. Kassim made the comments during a tour of the Omotosho, Ogorode and Ihovbor plants in late November, saying that the audit had been backed by vice-president Yemi Osinbajo.

Zesco invites bids by 5 February 2021 for the engineering, design, manufacture, supply, construction, testing and commissioning of power transmission and distribution equipment under the Sustainable Electricity Supply Southern Division Project.

Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) has announced a partnership with South African solar provider SolarAfrica to develop a 13.5MWp solar PV installation for its Silverton assembly plant in Pretoria. The solar energy project forms part of plans to make the assembly plant self-sufficient in green energy by 2024, Ford said on 13 November.

Zesco is in talks to lower power purchase prices from its private suppliers while it awaits completion of a delayed cost of service study. The utility’s debt to Zambia’s four IPPs currently stands at just under $800m, and Maamba Collieries Ltd (MCL) has gone to the High Court in London to enforce payment on $350m it is owed.

EU concern over drilling plan The European Commission has expressed concern about the potential impact of oil exploration on the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, where Reconnaissance Energy Africa (ReconAfrica) plans to drill three wells starting in late December.

Dutch development bank FMO has agreed a €500,000 ($598,000) convertible loan with power company ZIZ Energie to fund its operations in Chad. FMO joins investment company Energy Access Ventures (EAV) in backing ZIZ in a €2m funding round. EAV announced it was investing in the company earlier this year.

A report from off-grid solar industry association Gogla shows significant falls in sales of household solar products in H1 2020 as Covid-19 slowed ­progress. The Global Off-grid Solar Market Report for H1 2020 shows sales of solar lighting products – including lanterns, multi-light systems, and solar home systems – fell by 26% compared with H1 2019, to the lowest volumes since 2014.

The Ministry of Military Production (MMP) has further extended its oil and gas sector interests with a new deal that shows how the military’s business arms intend to cooperate with international investors. A cooperation protocol was agreed in late October between Italian-Egyptian wellhead production company Tharwa Breda Petroleum Service Company (TBPSCo) and the National Authority for Military Production (NAMP). TBPSCo is 50% owned by Italy’s Breda Energia, with the other half of its equity held by a group of Egyptian state-owned institutions.

The British government has generated further controversy over its foreign aid policy by announcing that its overseas development assistance (ODA) budget will be reduced to 0.5% of gross national income (GNI) on a temporary basis to take account of the domestic strains from the coronavirus pandemic.

Minister of energy Dona Jean-Claude Houssou on 19 November launched the construction of a 25MW solar PV plant in Illoulofin, in Pobè municipality, known as the Defissol project. The plant will be built on a 96ha site owned by Société Béninoise d’Energie Electrique (SBEE), which is funding the CFA12.7bn ($23m) project along with the European Union and the French Development Agency.

The World Bank Group (WBG) has invited expressions of interest from consultants to provide an analysis of the implications of retiring the Camden, Hendrina, Grootvlei and Komati coal power plants. The consultant will look at the technical, environmental, socioeconomic and financial implications of decommissioning the plants to help inform the WBG’s future engagement with South Africa.

President Idriss Deby Itno on 21 November launched construction of a 100MW solar PV project in N’djamena’s Gaoui district. The project will be developed in two 50MW stages by Austria’s Merl Solar Technologies on a build, own, operate and transfer basis. It will also include a 10MWh storage system and a 33/90kV substation.

Waltersmith Refining & Petrochemical Company Limited (WRPC) commissioned a 5,000 b/d modular refinery at Ibigwe in Imo State on 24 November. The refinery, the first phase of a development totalling 50,000 b/d, will deliver 271m litres/yr of HFO, kerosene and diesel to the domestic and regional market.