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It may not be lending as much as in recent decades, but China retains a dominant position as an economic partner and political ally in Africa. President Xi Jinping is now trying to reposition his country as a source of ‘small but beautiful’ projects, but Beijing will fight to maintain its hold over resource flows, having built up a strong position in many markets that western rivals will find hard to shift, writes Jon Marks.

Over the last two months South Africa and Zambia have enacted new liberalising laws and market regulations in an attempt to attract investment to their power generation, transmission, and distribution sectors.

The concessional loan from German development bank KfW has enabled the project to expand from70MWp to 100MWp, with Chinese contractors now taking on the EPC work.

French asset manager Mirova has invested $15m in renewable energy company SolarAfrica, to support its commercial and industrial (C&I) projects in South Africa.

A small number of floating solar plants are already operating across Africa and over a dozen more are being planned. Advocates say the technology can not only generate power, but also expand the generation capacity of underperforming hydroelectric power reservoirs. As dams age and water becomes scarce, development finance institutions could a play critical role in funding the growth of a still-nascent technology, writes Tonderayi Mukeredzi.

There has been renewed turbulence in South Sudan’s oil and gas sector, with the government stepping in to block a deal for London AIM-listed Savannah Energy to buy upstream assets from Malaysian national oil company Petronas for $1.25bn. It comes as South Sudan tries to resume pipeline exports of Dar Blend crude oil, which have been offline for more than six months.

After Zambia’s Energy Regulation Board (ERB) refused to sign-off on a tariff increase, the government said alternative financing will be found to reduce the 20-hour blackouts caused by historically low levels of rainfall. State utility Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (Zesco) is facing a perfect storm, with its own generation output and export sales plummeting and public money in short supply as the government grapples with the impact of the drought and a longstanding debt crisis.

Abdelmadjid Tebboune won a second term as president, with a landslide victory in Algeria’s 7 September election. However, he then joined his two opponents in raising questions about irregularities and the regulator’s handling of the poll.

West Africa Energy’s nearly-complete thermal plant at Cap des Biches will bring much-needed baseload capacity to Senelec’s network, supporting further renewable power projects. Meanwhile, the ruling Pastef party has started an audit of energy contracts awarded by the previous regime – with gas-to-power projects included in its scope, writes Waly Dione Faye in Dakar.

The nominally ‘independent candidate’ Abdelmajid Tebboune seems set for a second term when Algerians vote in the 7 September presidential election. He has promised accelerated investment in electricity and other infrastructure, a more responsive business environment and faster delivery of jobs and social services – with big new hydrocarbons deals to pay for it all.

Building on funding commitments from the AfDB, US and EU, work is accelerating on the Angola-DRC-Zambia rail network. The Lobito Corridor’s first phase has already seen faster, cheaper exports of Copperbelt minerals and a feasibility study on a Zambian spur is due. Washington is now mulling support for a potential extension of the corridor to the Indian Ocean, which could compete with Chinese plans to rehabilitate the Tazara link, but might even lead to co-operation with Beijing.

Despite an Angolan-brokered ceasefire signed on 30 July between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, rebels of the Alliance du Fleuve Congo and their M23 allies are moving north towards Butembo. Their advance along Lake Edward could reach the DRC’s Albertine Graben oil blocks, though these have been unlicensed for several years.

Despite many challenges, local investors are continuing to make large bets on the mature assets being sold off by international majors. However, the wider economic environment is also difficult, with widespread protests laying bare the scale of the problems facing President Tinubu’s government, writes Leonard Lawal in Abuja with Marc Howard.

A deal has ended a three-month suspension of oil shipments from the Niger-Benin Export Pipeline, enabling the resumption of significant Nigerien production – and vital foreign exchange earnings for Niamey. Meanwhile, the Nigerien junta has appointed a new oil minister with intriguing connections and has signed a deal with Algiers to restart work at a northern oil block, writes Marc Howard with Virgile Ahissou in Cotonou.

Russian sponsorship of Mali’s largest under-development solar PV plant has raised eyebrows in the industry. It represents an unusual departure for Rosatom and depends on the warm ties between Colonel Assimi Goïta’s regime and Moscow.