Search results

Power, works and housing minister Babatunde Fashola has confirmed that power purchase agreements (PPAs) were signed with 14 solar photovoltaic projects on 21 July. Speaking at Chatham House in London on 1 August, he said 12 PPAs had earlier been initialled and two more projects added subsequently. The combined capacity of the plants is 1,125MW, although not all of the projects are expected to meet the demanding timelines contained within the agreements.

A letter from Eskom to energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson requesting a dialogue before power purchase agreements (PPAs) are signed beyond the current renewable energy rounds has provoked a furious back-and-forth between Eskom and industry stakeholders in the media. On 21 July, an article in Business Day headlined ‘Eskom cuts off private power’ reported that Eskom chairman Ben Ngubane had written to Joemat-Pettersson stating that the utility would no longer sign PPAs with independent power producers (IPPs) for renewable energy schemes other than those already committed up to the expedited round ‘4.5’.

The Swazi government is looking to more than double its electricity generation capacity with a planned 300MW coal-fired power station. Demand in the mountain kingdom is put at 225MW, which is mainly supplied from imports from South Africa’s Eskom and 60.1MW of installed hydroelectric capacity (currently used for peaking). The sugar industry has 105MW cogeneration capacity; a small proportion of this goes into Swaziland Electricity Company’s grid from Ubombo Sugar. However, the government projects a rise in capacity from mining and other developments.

French telecoms provider Orange has announced a programme to provide solar power paid for by its mobile money scheme, which will pilot in three West African countries from November. Orange said the programme aimed to help individual customers or communities generate electricity where no traditional electricity grids are available. The project will be piloted in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Cameroon from November 2016. Orange is providing solar kits or microgrids to rural communities to generate electricity.

In another twist in the long-running saga of the 6GW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) and controversy over water use in the Nile Basin, there are reports from Israel that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to mediate between Egypt and Ethiopia over the issue. Israeli online news site Mida reported on 19 July that a decision on Israeli involvement followed a flurry of recent diplomatic activity, including a visit to Tel Aviv by Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shukri, which came soon after Netanyahu returned from a tour of Africa. The previous negotiator was former Palestinian Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan.

EDF International and its partners have set up the Nachtigal Hydro Power Company (NHPC) to develop the 420MW Nachtigal dam scheme on the Sanaga River.NHPC, a Cameroonian limited company based in Yaoundé, was established on 7 July. It is 40% owned by EDF, 30% by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and 30% by the Cameroonian state. Establishment of the project company follows the signing of a joint development agreement in November 2013, and a production concession contract in July 2014.

Acwa Power Khalladi has confirmed final orders to suppliers and contractors for the construction of its 10MW wind power project near Tangier. Saudi-based Acwa Power said all conditions precedent for its landmark project financing had been satisfied. Acwa Power Khalladi (formerly known as UPC Renewables) is 75% owned by Acwa Power and 25% owned by the Arif Investment Fund, managed by Infra Invest. The Khalladi project will directly supply industrial clients connected to the high-voltage network. The MAD1.7bn ($173m) project began construction in November 2015.

Germany’s Voith has signed a contract to supply electromechanical equipment to the 42MW Achwa River hydropower project on the border of Gulu and Pader districts. Work includes design, manufacturing, supply, transportation, testing and commissioning of all electromechanical parts. Achwa River is owned by Maji Power, a special purpose vehicle entirely owned by the Africa Renewable Energy Fund, which is managed by Berkeley Energy. It will comprise four vertical Francis turbines and vertical synchronous generators.

Mainstream Renewable Power announced on 11 July that commercial operations have begun at the 80MW Noupoort wind power plant in Umsobomvu Municipal Area in the Northern Cape. The plant comprises 35 99-metre turbines supplied by Siemens covering an area of 7,500ha and costing R1.9bn ($132m) to build. It is expected to produce around 304.8GWh/yr of electricity. Noupoort was selected in the third round of South Africa’s renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme. Construction began in May 2015, with all turbines erected by 30 March 2016. The plant is owned by Lekela Power – a 60:40 joint venture between UK private equity firm Actis and Mainstream Renewable Power – broad-based black economic empowerment investor

The Ministry of Energy and Water has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Abu Dhabi industrial group Privinvest to introduce hydrokinetic power generation over the next decade. Privinvest affiliates CMN and Hydroquest design and manufacture turbines for use in rivers and the sea, harnessing energy from tides and flowing water.State power utility Empresa Pública de Produção de Electricidade (Prodel) and Privinvest have agreed to set up a joint venture company, which will initially manufacture and operate hydrokinetic energy schemes in Angola. The workload will be split between Angola and France.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) on 24 June approved two grants for renewable energy projects in Ghana. Some $926,614 was approved for eleQtra (West Africa) Ltd to support technical assistance for a 50MW wind power project in the Greater Accra region. The grant will fund the preparation of technical studies to determine the energy production and topographical, geotechnical, grid interconnection and market characteristics of the project. Also included is the preparation of tender documents for the engineering, procurement and construction contractor and legal support. Technical assistance funded by USTDA will be restricted to US companies.

Senegal is a relatively small economy with a reputation for competent, if sometimes flawed, governance of its limited resources. The prospect of an administration with a taste for joined-up government tapping recently identified offshore gas resources, and attracting investment in its abundant solar and wind resources, suggests that President Macky Sall’s Plan Sénégal Emergent strategy to achieve emerging market status by 2035 is not overblown.

Ten companies out of approximately 70 that started developing projects under Egypt’s renewable feed-in tariff (FiT) programme in November 2014 have so far recommitted to the scheme. The Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy has requested that they submit binding letters confirming their participation following concerns about currency and arbitration issues. All those who have responded so far are developing solar projects in the Benban area, near Aswan, in southern Egypt. The deadline for responses was end-June.

The government held a meeting with financing partners on 12 July in Niamey to discuss measures to revive the Kandadji hydropower and irrigation project, which was delayed by cancellation of the original construction contract for non-performance. The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Brigi Rafini, brought together representatives of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank, the Agence Française de Développement, the Opec Fund for International Development, the Niger Basin Authority, the Saudi Development Fund, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Ecowas Bank for Investment and Development, the Islamic Development Bank and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.

Officials in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are making bullish noises about the much-anticipated Inga 3 hydroelectric power project, with the bidding whittled down to two consortia, which officials say are expected to present their final offers by 31 July, for contracts to be signed by year-end. Veteran energy official Bruno Kapandji Kalala – appointed by President Joseph Kabila Kabange to head the Agence pour le Développement et la Promotion du Projet Grand Inga (ADPI-RDC), the unit within the president’s office charged with delivering the Grand Inga project – has set out a roadmap for the project’s implementation and revealed changes to the bidding consortia.