Search results

Independent power producer (IPP) Solgas Energy has connected its flagship project, the 5MW Cross Mabale power plant in Hwange, to the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority grid. 

A 26kW solar PV system and 60kWh battery donated to the Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary in Mpumalanga has been commissioned.

Developers of small hydropower (SHP) projects in East Africa are facing greater challenges in raising finance for their schemes, as a result of weak national grids and a shift away from take-or-pay arrangements by offtakers, according to one industry figure.

Demand for commercial and industrial (C&I) power projects is surging, particularly in eastern and southern Africa. In key markets such as South Africa and Kenya, customers have opted for C&I solutions that not only offer cheaper tariffs but also greater reliability than the grid. These imperatives have also prompted a shift to C&I in the West African market, where the sector has seen considerable activity this year although market players still deem it to be ‘early days’.

Covid-19-related restrictions have delayed commissioning of the 56MW Shema Power Lake Kivu methane-to-power plant (previously known as Kivu56), project director Tony de la Motte told African Energy.

Finland’s Wärtsilä and Gabon Power Company (GPC) announced the signing of an agreement with the government to develop, supply, build and operate a 120MW gas-fired power plant at Owendo on 23 September.

Work has started at the 25MWp Bangui solar PV and battery plant, the World Bank Group (WBG)’s Boris Ngouagouni told African Energy.

Miner Goviex Uranium chief executive Daniel Major told African Energy that work on the 20MW Madaouela Mine solar PV and diesel hybrid plant near Arlit, in the Agadez region, had been postponed.

Construction of the Korhogo solar PV plant is expected to begin in Q2 2022, developer Madagascar-based Groupe Filatex chief operating officer George Conde told African Energy.

The remaining contracts for the 20MWp Jambur solar PV project are “expected to be signed in the last quarter of this year, after which design and construction will begin”, National Water and Electricity Company (Nawec) senior power engineer Ebrima A Bah told African Energy.

A rarity until a few years ago, battery and renewable power plants have more recently outcompeted fossil fuel projects without subsidy in several African markets. The AIX: Financing Battery Storage meeting heard about the extent Bess projects are making headway, despite financiers’ reservations.

Dutch development bank FMO has closed a $2.1m follow-on investment in off-grid solar company D.light.

Investment fund manager Amethis has sold its 22% minority stake in Burkina Faso’s leading liquid petroleum gas (LPG) bottle distributor, Sodigaz APC, to African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM). Sodigaz claims a market share exceeding 60% and distribution network of 2,200 gas resellers. 

Progress has been made towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 7 of providing universal energy access by 2030, with €108bn in funding in 2014-19, but international partners will need to do much more if the target is to be reached, according to a new Africa-EU Energy Partnership report by African Energy’s parent company CbI, writes David Slater