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A $3bn Eurobond, raised in early 2020, was meant to be used to tackle Ghana’s large public sector debts, with up to $1bn intended by finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta to renegotiate supply deals with independent power producers (IPPs), replacing take-or-pay agreements that had left the state paying for unused electricity.

Aqua Power in late July lost a legal challenge to the award of an engineering, procurement and construction contract for the 185MW Kinyerezi I gas power plant to CSI Energy Group (Tanzania). The contract was awarded by Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (Tanesco) in November 2020.

Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has contracted Italian specialist Steam to conduct tests and set up a facility for extracting minerals such as silica and lithium from geothermal fluids, in a revenue diversification bid.

Kenya Electricity Generating Company and Akiira Geothermal are planning the co-development of several new geothermal projects in KenGen’s first joint venture deal with an independent power producer (IPP), company officials told African Energy – and other IPP deals could follow for the state generation company.

WinEnerji Niger general manager Ferhat Isik told African Energy that logistical problems mean the completion of the 23MW Zinder heavy fuel oil (HFO) plant has been delayed.

Azito developer Globeleq is keen to invest further in Côte d’Ivoire’s power sector with “particular emphasis on renewable energy projects”, chief executive Mike Scholey told African Energy.

The United Kingdom’s Global Otec is to start negotiations with the São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) government on a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the continent’s first ocean thermal energy conversion (Otec) platform.

Cairo has not budged on its commitment to Rosatom and the Dabaa nuclear project, regardless of international sanctions and other western attempts to diplomatically and financially isolate Russia over Ukraine. Construction has begun in earnest at Dabaa, which says much about the underlying strength of Cairo-Moscow relations, but the project’s real drivers are domestic and regional, writes John Hamilton.

Aksa Enerji sees opportunities in African GTP markets for the conversion of open cycle gas turbine (OCGT) plants to combined cycle (CCGT). In March it was gazetted that Aksa had been awarded a four-year provisional independent power producer (IPP) licence by the Republic of Congo government, which may indicate the Turkish firm will develop its own IPPs too.

Zimbabwe’s plans to use its ample coal resources to produce power, while it slowly scales up its renewable capacity, have been dealt a major blow, with international funding now in doubt for a series of major projects.

Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) deputy director-general Jacob Mbele has confirmed that a request for proposals (RfP) for the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP)’s seventh round will be released later this year, alongside an RfP for the gas-to-power IPP programme in October.

According to national utility Eskom, the Medupi coal power plant in Limpopo province is now consistently achieving its design output.

Debt finance has been lined up to cover 75% of the cost of a planned geothermal exploration programme by renewable energy company Akiira Geothermal at the Naivasha steam fields in Akiira Valley.

Production testing has started at four recently-drilled geothermal wells at Aluto-Langano, south of Addis Ababa, power utility Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) has said. The testing is scheduled to take three months.

With a tender for a utility-scale concentrated solar power plant likely to be launched this year, Namibia’s embrace of renewables is gaining momentum. It also offers fresh hope to advocates of CSP technology following past setbacks.