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The African Development Bank (AfDB) on 7 July signed a $1.34bn loan for Eskom’s massive capital expenditure programme, which is expected to cost more than $17bn between 2016 and 2020. The programme will add around 11,000MW of generation capacity and 9,500km of transmission lines. The syndicated A/B loan facility, which the AfDB claims is the largest to date in Africa, included $965m from nine commercial banks: Bank of China, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, CaixaBank, Citibank, HSBC, JP Morgan Chase, KfW IPEX Bank, Siemens Bank and Standard Chartered.

Lekela Power’s takeover of the Taiba Ndiaye wind project and construction starts at two privately financed solar photovoltaic (PV) units point to a strong renewable energy element in Senegal’s ambitious plans to qualify as an emerging economy by 2035. Extra thermal capacity will also be added, while gas imports and/or offshore upstream development will be promoted as the government presses to get as many new generation projects going as possible. Several schemes are slated to start up in Q4 2017, coinciding with President Macky Sall’s quest for re-election, senior officials noted.

Solar power developers in Nigeria were caught off guard when, after months of uncertainty, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) offered 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with a base tariff of $0.115/kWh to each of the 15 solar photovoltaic (PV) projects that had already received a generation licence from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (Nerc). Local media reported that 12 projects initialled PPAs with combined capacity of 975MW.

Togo is embarking on a country-wide solar rural electrification programme to bring power to 293 towns and villages in the country’s five regions. Known in French as Programme de Valorisation de l’Energie Solaire, or Proves, the scheme envisages the installation of solar photovoltaic systems to electrify 293 towns and villages in the Savanes, Kara, Centrale, Plateaux and Maritime regions.

Investors and developers have condemned the government’s refusal to compromise over the terms of the power purchase agreement for utility-scale feed-in tariff (FiT) projects, which means that the majority of projects in the first phase will not go ahead. Cairo’s inflexibility has created a suspicion within the industry that it has used the disputed clauses as a pretext for shutting down most of the programme, having concluded that the FIT prices had been set too high. Some projects may go ahead in a subsequent phase, and renewables projects are going ahead under other less controversial schemes.

Private equity firm Denham Capital and renewables investor GreenWish Partners on 22 June announced a partnership to develop, build and finance a portfolio of 600MW of renewable energy across sub-Saharan Africa by 2020. The capital commitment will allow the African renewables platform to carry out a $1bn project pipeline. In February, GreenWish launched construction of the Senergy II solar scheme in Senegal, in partnership with French construction group Vinci.

The East African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EACREEE) has opened at the Makerere University College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology in Kampala. The centre aims to develop and implement a regional renewable energy and energy efficiency policy framework for the East African Community, to develop and execute regional programmes and projects and mobilise funding, to provide a framework for capacity building activities and strengthen networks between research and training institutions, and to act as a think-tank, lobbying agent and advisory platform for renewables in East Africa.

State-owned developer Masen’s expanded role has been confirmed with its conversion into the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy, from its former more restricted remit as Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy. Legislation that passed through the government council on 24 June gives Masen the leading role in Morocco’s ambitious renewable energy programme, which seeks to generate 52% of the kingdom’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030 – a forecast that will be replayed again and again ahead of the COP22 climate talks, to be held in Marrakech on 7-18 November.

Developer Mainstream Renewable Power has signed a $117.5m equity investment from investors including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the IFC African, Latin American and Caribbean Fund and the IFC Catalyst Fund, two funds managed by IFC Asset Management Company, Ascension Investment Management and Sanlam, to develop wind and solar plants across Africa.

Investors and developers have condemned the government’s refusal to compromise over the terms of the power purchase agreement for utility-scale feed-in tariff (FiT) projects, which means that the majority of projects in the first phase will not go ahead. Cairo’s inflexibility has created a suspicion within the industry that it has used the disputed clauses as a pretext for shutting down most of the programme, having concluded that the FIT prices had been set too high.

The start-up of the Kaléta dam in mid 2015 improved power supply for several months but low water levels mean that only one of the dam’s three turbines is able to operate. With insufficient thermal capacity to fill the gap, power cuts have again become commonplace in outlying districts of Conakry. An Electricité de Guinée (EDG) official told African Energy almost all the country’s available capacity at present is being produced by thermal plants in Conakry.

The Egyptian government has asked for binding commitments from financiers and developers involved in wind and solar feed-in tariff (FiT) projects. Those unwilling to confirm their participation by 30 June may be given a chance to transfer their projects into a second phase of the programme, although this has yet to be confirmed. A few major institutions have already said they will not take part, but other projects are going ahead.

Berkeley Energy, manager of the Africa Renewable Energy Fund (Aref), is seeking expressions of interest from consultants to produce technical and environmental studies for the planned 42MW Achwa I hydropower project in Pader and Gulu districts of northern Uganda. All of Aref’s projects in Uganda are held by its wholly owned subsidiary Maji Power.

Actis and Mainstream Renewable Power joint venture Lekela Power has taken over the 158MW Taiba Ndiaye Wind Project. Lekela said in a 22 June statement that it had acquired codevelopment rights and sole rights to invest in the project, which was being developed by American Capital Energy & Infrastructure, and French wind and solar power developer Sarreole with support from the US Power Africa initiative. A power purchase agreement for the wind farm was signed with Société Nationale d’Electricité du Sénégal in December 2013.

The 20MW Windiga solar scheme is progressing towards financial close during the summer, Windiga Energy president and chief executive Benoit La Salle told African Energy. He said construction was planned to start in Q3 this year. Windiga has been developing the project in Zina, Mouhoun province, since the company was established as part of miner Semafo’s corporate social responsibility policy in 2010. The project suffered some delay as a result of political upheaval in Burkina Faso, but the pace of investment is picking up with BioTherm Energy planning solar plants at Pâ and Bobo-Dioulasso.