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Namibia is pushing ahead with plans to secure NamPower amid competition from distributed power providers and reduce reliance on imports, which currently account for around half of power consumption. In early May, the Ministry of Mines and Energy published its Electricity Supply Industry Market Framework, a new market structure allowing independent power producers (IPPs) to sell directly to large customers. The framework was approved by cabinet in mid-April and the Electricity Control Board (ECB) is drawing up rules which will come into effect on 1 September.

Rwanda is relying on up to five key projects to meet its target of 556MW generation capacity by 2024. In an interview with African Energy, Rwanda Energy Group chief executive Ron Weiss said the new target was in line with government plans to increase electricity access to 100% by 2024. As of February 2019, 51% of households had access to power (37% of households are connected to the grid, while 14% are connected to off-grid systems).

French utility Engie has inaugurated its first mini-grid in Zambia. The PowerCorner mini-grid is located in the village of Chitandika, a community of 378 households in the east of the country. The grid will supply a rural health centre and two schools as well as homes and businesses. Engie aims to develop 2,000 mini-grids in Africa by 2025.

UK-based Solarcentury announced in late March that it had completed two rural mini-grids at Areza (1.25MWp) and Maidma (1MWp). The mini-grids use solar photovoltaic modules with Tesla lithium batteries and back-up diesel generators from Caterpillar. Construction took eight months and the grids will now be operated by the Eritrean Electricity Company, whose staff have been trained by Solarcentury.

With elections coming up on 8 May, the power crisis in South Africa has peaked at an inconvenient time for President Cyril Ramaphosa. While opposition parties, particularly the Democratic Alliance, are seeking to make political capital out of the catastrophic deterioration in technical and financial performance at Eskom, there are also concerns that no substantial policy measures are likely until after the elections. This could have implications for policies such as the unbundling of transmission, where the government had aimed to appoint directors for a new entity around mid-year.

African solar power provider Daystar Power has secured $10m in investment from Verod Capital Management and Persistent Energy Capital and has lined up an additional $16m in debt financing to accelerate its expansion across West Africa. The deal will allow Daystar Power to expand its offering for commercial and industrial customers across the region, providing corporate clients with a reliable supply of clean solar energy while significantly reducing their operating costs and minimising the use of diesel generators.

CrossBoundary Energy has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for a 650kW rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) facility to supply Heineken’s Nigerian Breweries Plc brewery in Ibadan. CrossBoundary has been pioneering a portfolio approach to small-scale projects in Africa, with Nigerian Breweries the eighth agreement it has signed in the commercial and industrial (C&I) sector. CrossBoundary vision and delivery lead Kathleen Jean-Pierre told African Energy the fund currently holds the largest portfolio of commercial solar assets under construction or operating in sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa.

The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) is looking to expand its InfraCredit model, which was established in Nigeria in 2017 by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority and GuarantCo to provide credit enhancements to infrastructure companies to allow them to raise long-term capital from pension funds and institutional investors. Since then, the two founding sponsors have been joined by the Africa Finance Corporation and German development bank KfW. A number of initiatives are emerging to encourage investment by African institutions into infrastructure.

President Felix Tshisekedi Tshilombo launched an emergency investment programme in Kinshasa on 2 March, focused mainly on improving the country’s road infrastructure, but also covering energy, education, housing, employment, transport, health, water and agriculture. According to a 78-page report detailing the projects, the state will provide up to $488m of funding, of which $183.2m is earmarked for work on roads. Some $20m of the total is earmarked for the electricity sector – $18.37m from the Treasury and $1.62m from the Industry Promotion Fund.

Malawi is racing to reduce a supply deficit that could top 150MW next year. The country experienced a nationwide blackout in early March after the 130MW Kapichira and 36MW Nkula A hydropower plants had to be switched off to reduce the risk of damage due to flooding. Daily load-shedding has been made worse by a substantial reduction in water levels at Lake Malawi, which affects hydropower projects on the Shire River.

The European Union will provide E106m ($119m) for a clean energy programme to be implemented by National Water and Electricity Company. This includes E65m under a 25-year concessional loan from the European Investment Bank and a E41m grant from the European Union budget. The project will also be supported by E35.7m of financing from the World Bank. The project aims to develop a 20MW solar photovoltaic plant at Jambur near Banjul and 400km of distribution infrastructure.

CrossBoundary Energy Ghana (CBE) announced on 15 February the entry into commercial service of a 400KWp rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) plant at a bottling facility in Accra owned by local beverages producer Kasapreko. The installation is Ghana’s first power purchase agreement (PPA)-financed solar plant for a commercial customer, according to CrossBoundary Energy, an investment fund that finances off-grid solar rooftop projects for companies in Africa.

The co-founders of US-based residential and commercial solar company SolarCity – now part of Tesla Inc and called Tesla Energy – Lyndon Rive and Peter Rive have joined Zola Electric, the brand name of Off Grid Electric. Lyndon Rive will become Zola’s chairman while Peter Rive will be operational and technology adviser.

UK-based Azuri Technologies and First Bank of Nigeria Ltd announced a partnership on 7 February to expand access to electricity in Nigeria. The agreement will see Azuri’s solar home system packages co-branded and co-marketed by FirstBank. Customers will be able to use First Bank’s Firstmonie agent network and mobile payment platform to pay for their solar systems.

Helius Power Company invites prequalification applications by 12 March for the implementation of a rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) plant with an installed capacity of around 12MWp and associated network at the Tema Free Zones Enclave. Helius, the power generation subsidiary of Southern Utilities, part of Ghanaian conglomerate LMI Holdings, said it has secured financing for the project, which is to be installed on the 92,000m2 roof space of Mega Warehouse, owned by LMI subsidiary International Warehouse Company.