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Unilever Tea Kenya has said it will apply for a power generation licence this month, in a move that will reduce its reliance on utility Kenya Power (KPLC). The firm said it “intends to apply for a licence for the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical energy for use within its estates in the West Kenya area that encompass Kericho and Bomet counties”.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a grant to Daybreak Power Solutions, a subsidiary of Nigeria’s Daystar Power Group, for a feasibility study into new solar PV and storage mini-grids for business offtakers.

South Africa’s Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) has approved the development of 30MWac of solar PV capacity at two of its sites in Matabeleland. A 10MWac plant will be situated at Coleen Bawn near Gwanda and a 20MWac plant will be built near the Bulawayo quarry.

Indian Ocean Tuna (IOT), a subsidiary of Thai Union Group, is to install a solar PV plant at its Mahe factory. The plant is being developed by Gridworks subsidiary SPS, formerly known as Mettle Solar.

Work has begun at the solar PV plant being developed by CrossBoundary Energy (CBE) at RioTinto’s QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) ilmenite mineral sands project. The project is being developed on the basis of a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

Platinum miner Zimplats has received a licence from the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) to build 185MW of solar PV capacity at two mines. Construction work is now expected to start later this year, once the company’s board has approved a bankable feasibility study for the project.

Two BUA Group subsidiaries have signed agreements for large commercial and industrial (C&I) plants: a 70MW dual fuel plant at BUA Cement’s Obu Line 3 project in the southern Edo state, and a 35MW bagasse plant at BUA Industries’ Lafiagi bagasse project in the western Kwara state.

Zimbabwean agro-industrial company Nhimbe Fresh has announced the completion of work on its 1.9MW solar PV project to supply its estates in Marondera.

Contracts to build solar plants in South Africa and Nigeria show how large data projects are being helped by increasingly supple regulation and favourable economics, writes Marc Howard

Lansarine, Tebourba-based cheese-maker Centrale des Produits Laitiers – CPL Souani inaugurated an 85kWp roof-mounted PV plant on 9 December, saying it will cover up to 60% of its electricity needs during daylight hours.

CrossBoundary Energy (CBE) is to build an independent power plant (IPP) to supply NextSource Materials’ Molo graphite mine. The solar/thermal IPP has a 20-year contract to supply the mine.

Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch’s government has underlined its determination to push through long-delayed, liberal legislation by approving a new law (projet de loi 82.21) on self-generation, which local industry players have long sought.

Starsight, CrossBoundary, Daystar and Blue Camel are among a growing number of operators who are building a major corporate business as companies seek secure electricity supply, writes Marc Howard.

Nigeria’s Daystar Power Energy Solutions announced it has reached an agreement with the privately-held, Lagos-based Seven-Up Bottling Company (SBC) to install 10.5MWp of solar PV capacity across five of its sites.

The Zimbabwe government and Zimplats have signed an agreement that will see the platinum miner invest $1.4bn in a series of projects including the construction of a 110MW solar PV power plant. The spending programme also includes a new mine, the expansion of a smelter and construction of an additional concentrator, a base metal refinery and a sulphuric acid plant.