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The Cuamba solar PV plant, which includes 2MW/7MWh of battery energy storage, has started commercial operations, according to developer Globeleq.

‘Last mile’ access software and hardware provider Okra Solar has secured fresh debt and equity in a series-A round of financing intended to scale up its mesh-grid technology for off-grid projects in Nigeria.

The Red Sea Power (RSP) Ghoubet wind plant has been commissioned. The $122m project is Djibouti’s first utility-scale independent power producer (IPP) and its first on-grid renewable energy plant. African Energy takes a look at the potential impact of the plant, which represents the first steps towards achieving the government’s energy transition goals.

Expressions of interest (EoI) have been requested by the Ministry of Energy for consultancy services to prepare a 40MW wind plant, following a general procurement notice.

Initial projections from the African Union’s Continental Power System Master Plan show what an interconnected power market might look like, driven predominantly by renewable energy – but the plan also sets out in stark relief the vast gap between current levels of supply and what is needed for universal electricity access to help raise economies out of poverty, write John Hamilton and Jon Marks in Nairobi.

In a potentially radical development for Burundi, Nairobi-based Virunga Power on 6 September launched Weza Power, a new private utility which plans to connect 9m people over the next seven years. Structured as a public private/partnership (PPP), energy minister Ibrahim Uwizeye said Weza would help one of the world’s poorest nations to achieve its goal of becoming an emerging economy by 2040.

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been sworn in for a second five-year term after an election widely condemned as flawed. The fallout could stifle efforts to put the economy back on track and undermine his plans to reengage with the world, writes Nicholas Makombe.

Kalahari GeoEnergy (KGE) has set a date for the expected commissioning of a 50kW pilot geothermal plant at Bweengwa in Southern Province. The project is Zambia’s first geothermal independent power producer (IPP) and is due to expand to 10MW over time.

Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Northam Platinum is weighing up plans to add more solar PV capacity at its Booysendal, Eland and Zondereinde mines, while also procuring more diesel generators, as it seeks to reduce reliance on the national grid.

China’s Kaishan Group is acquiring one of the three 35MW geothermal developments at Menengai from Symbion Power, while Sosian Menengai Geothermal Power has connected to the Kenya Power grid and Globeleq’s documentation will soon be finalised, a senior official said.

Vedanta Zinc International has signed a power purchase agreement with independent power producer Enernet Global (Enernet) to develop a solar PV plant to supply its Black Mountain mines in Aggeneys, Northern Cape, South Africa.

Amea Power has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with state utility Electricité de Djibouti (EDD) that will see the Dubai-based compnay become the first independent power producer (IPP) to develop a solar project in Djibouti.

After commissioning the Motheo copper mine, ASX-listed Sandfire Resources is pushing ahead with plans to expand production, which will include adding solar power and battery energy storage capacity.

Harmony Gold Mining Company has commissioned three solar PV plants in Lejweleputswa, Free State province. The South African plants are the first part of a wider renewable energy programme and are expected to reduce the mining group’s carbon dioxide emissions by about 65,000t in the first year of operation.

Johannesburg-headquartered Polymer manufacturer Safripol is doubling the capacity of solar PV generation at its Sasolburg site and developing a hybrid solar/gas plant in Durban.