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The widespread perception that Donald Trump’s incoming United States administration will create new winners and losers does not exclude Africa’s energy industries and the wider continental economy and society. But true to the president-elect’s ‘transactional’ approach, US policy in the next four years will mainly be geared to creating winners at home – and those governments and corporates who plan with America First in mind could survive the expected Trump rollercoaster better than others.

Saudi giant Acwa Power has agreed to supply electricity to Gotion High Tech Group’s planned Kenitra gigafactory in what will be Morocco’s biggest ever merchant power deal. The agreement could open the door to bigger and even more transformative developments and will restore Acwa’s position in Morocco, which has been eroded in recent years, writes Our Casablanca Correspondent.

A mooted new deal to purchase output from the Muhoroni thermal turbine plant could signal that cracks are appearing in the longstanding ban on new Kenyan IPP developments.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) awarded a $1.3m grant to Côte d’Ivoire (CdI)’s Ministry of Finance for a feasibility study to developed a power grid emergency control system for the state-owned utility Côte d’Ivoire Energies (CIE). USTDA said the system was “expected to be the first of its kind in Africa".

Ouagadougou has invited international bidders to submit prequalification documents for two greenfield, solar storage projects, backed by funding from the World Bank Group and the Clean Technology Fund. African Energy takes a closer look at the projects and the impact they could have on the Société Nationale d’Electricité du Burkina Faso (Sonabel) grid.

Commissioning of a fourth unit at the 2.1GW Julius Nyerere hydroelectric power plant has prompted the Tanzanian government to move away from gas-to-power capacity. The immediate consequence is that a power purchase agreement for Songas, the country’s first IPP, will not be renewed. Meanwhile, two foreign investors have launched arbitral claims of $500m and $1.2bn against the government, and progress remains static at the much-vaunted Tanzania LNG megaproject, writes Marc Howard.

Mazarine Energy’s management has acquired a majority stake in the indie firm by buying out two private equity investors. It comes as it is expanding into renewable energy projects, with a first solar PV plant in Feriana, Kasserine Governorate.

Against the odds, the Tunisian government is trying to get its authorisation programme for procuring small, on-grid solar PV projects back on track. It has launched a fifth bidding round and set a new feed-in tariff structure applicable to both current and past projects. It needs to persuade investors that things will be different this time.

Tunisian energy sector officials have set out an ambitious and well-thought-through programme of development and reform – the objective of which is to add gigawatts of renewable generation capacity in the coming years. But to get it implemented they will have to counter political and economic headwinds generated by President Kaïs Saïed himself.

South African state power utility Eskom is embarking on a solar power plant programme after obtaining licences to operate two solar PV plants, one in the Western Cape and one in Free State province.

Some $10bn worth of deals were struck between Morocco and French energy and infrastructure companies during a late-October visit by Emmanuel Macron to the North African country, during which the French president offered strong support for Rabat’s claim to Western Sahara.

The installation of a solar plant at Fortress’ Evaton Mall is the latest stage in a major programme of on-site, renewable C&I investment by the Gauteng-headquartered real estate group. Fortress also recently signed a 10-year wheeling agreement to use the Discovery Green renewable energy platform to buy electricity from a mix of utility-scale wind and solar sources.

The $736m deal between Ketraco and Indian conglomerate Adani to construct a series of transmission lines and substations was suspended by the High Court in Nairobi in late October, after opponents argued it had been awarded under an opaque process. A hearing will be held on 11 November.

Saudi developer Acwa Power has confirmed that the Redstone CSP plant in South Africa should reach its full generating capacity within days. In the 27 october statement, it also said its Kom Ombo solar PV plant in Egypt had reached full production capacity.

A permanent economic crisis characterised by inflation and fuel shortages is driving an unplanned green revolution in Burundi as consumers flee one of Africa’s worst performing utilities for the long-term security of off-grid solar systems. But even in this unforgiving environment some utility-scale projects are advancing thanks to determined international support.