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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.

German electricity storage system manufacturer Tesvolt announced on 14 June that it has signed a contract to provide what it describes as the largest decentralised off-grid storage system in the world. The 3.3MW solar photovoltaic and 2.8MWh storage system comprising 134 lithium battery packs has been designed to allow part of the national grid serving 44 water pumps to operate as an isolated mini-grid in the event of a blackout. Tesvolt director of engineering Simon Schandert said in a news release that Rwanda’s power system tends to fail three or four times a day for between five and 45 minutes.

Enel Green Power has started production from the 66MW Tom Burke solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Limpopo province. The plant was awarded in the third round of the renewable energy independent power producer procurement (REIPPP) programme, and brings Enel’s installed capacity in South Africa to nearly 160MW.

The government on 6 June signed an agreement with a Chinese consortium to build the 240MW Busanga hydro scheme. The dam will be built on the Upper Congo River in Katanga province, downstream from two existing hydro plants, primarily to supply Société Sino-Congolaise des Mines (Sicomines). Moïse Ekanga, director of the China-DRC cooperation office, said construction was expected to take five years. The Sicomines joint venture and the Busanga hydro scheme are part of a cooperation agreement signed with Beijing in 2007.

The Kandadji irrigation and hydropower project on the Niger River, 180km north-west of Niamey, was launched in 2008 with an initial target completion date of 2017. The scheme forms part of a wider programme under the supervision of the High Commission for the Development of the Niger Valley (HCAVN), which aims to improve water supply for agriculture and reduce seasonal variations in the flow of the river. The dam construction contract was initially awarded to Russia’s Zarubezhvodstroy in September 2010.

Kipeto Energy announced on 2 June that it has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Kenya Power for a 100MW wind power project in Kajiado County. The PPA was first initialled on 28 July 2015 during US President Barack Obama’s visit to the country. Financial close and the start of construction are expected in the second half of 2016. Kipeto Energy is owned by African Infrastructure Investment Managers, Kenyan independent power producer developer Craftskills Wind Energy International, and the International Finance Corporation’s IFC Infraventures.

Berkeley Energy, as manager of the Africa Renewable Energy Fund (AREF), is seeking expressions of interest from consultants to carry out a prefeasibility study for potential hydropower projects on the Pra River. AREF is a $200m fund backed by the African Development Bank to invest in development-stage renewable energy projects. The study is expected to examine up to six potential sites, from which two will be prioritised for the subsequent phase. Expressions of interest are due by 14 June.

The US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (Opic) and the Renewable Energy Performance Platform (Repp) have announced an agreement to facilitate cooperation on renewable energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Under a memorandum of understanding, Opic will partner Repp to identify projects that could benefit from their support and assistance, beginning from early-stage development. “The intention is to identify strong projects that would be eligible for Opic financing at an early stage so that with Repp assistance, the projects have a higher likelihood of being financed and achieving their intended development impact,” a joint statement said.

Finland’s Wärtsilä has won an order to supply a 67MW thermal power plant to replace diesel generating sets at the St Louis power station. The order is for four Wärtsilä 46 engines running on heavy fuel oil. The equipment will be delivered in late 2016, and the plant is scheduled to be operational by September 2017. Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project. The modernised power station will provide semi-baseload power, including daily starts and stops, to local residents and industries.

BioTherm Energy has partnered French renewables company Canopy to develop and fund two solar photovoltaic projects which it says are close to signing a public-private partnership contract with the government. Johannesburg-based BioTherm and Canopy were awarded two projects under an international tender organised by the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

France’s Proparco has approved a loan of €34.5m ($37.8m) to finance the construction and operation of the 30MW Senergy solar photovoltaic power plant. The plant will be built near Méouane, in the Thiès region, and commissioning is scheduled for early 2017. Proparco’s 18-year loan will also finance the construction of grid connection infrastructure for state utility Senelec, which has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with the developers.

Bids were opened on 27 May for two 50MW solar photovoltaic power projects. Italy’s Enel Green Power and a consortium of France’s Neoen and Arizona-based First Solar were provisionally awarded preferred-bidder status. Neoen-First Solar bid a price of 6.02c/kWh while Enel bid 7.84c/kWh. They will sign agreements after a statutory period in which other bidders can challenge the award. Financial close is anticipated within 90 days of commercial close, expected in July, provided there is no delay in securing guarantees or signing a power purchase agreement (PPA) with national utility Zesco.

On 24 May, Italy’s Salini Impregilo announced that it had signed a €2.5bn contract with Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) to build the 2,200MW Koysha dam on the Omo River. The project comprises a 170-metre-high roller-compacted concrete dam with a reservoir volume of 6bcm. It is expected to produce 6,460GWh/yr electricity. The project is expected to be financed by Italian banks and underwritten by Italy’s Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero (Sace). Ethiopian newspaper The Reporter noted in April that Sace had agreed €1.5bn of export credit financing.

Two reports published at the Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP)’s Second Stakeholder Meeting, held in Milan on 17-18 May, showed key sectors of the continent’s energy industries in a period of transition. The AEEP’s Status Report Update 2016 records some achievements, but also several worrying shortfalls in performance. This means some of the AEEP’s 2020 Political Targets agreed at the Africa-EU Lisbon summit in 2007 might not be met.

Disparaging comments about renewable technology by Eskom chief executive Brian Molefe at the quarterly State of the System briefing in Cape Town on 12 May have drawn widespread criticism from the industry. The comments come at a time when Eskom’s financial situation and failure to coordinate with the Department of Energy (DoE)’s Independent Power Producer (IPP) Office have become major bottlenecks.