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India’s Nava Bharat Ventures (NBV) is seeking support from the Zambian government to raise finance to double output at its Maamba Collieries Ltd (MCL) coal-fired power plant, after Chinese lenders that backed the initial phase proved unwilling to fund the planned expansion.

National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has granted the new National Transmission Company of South Africa the first of its three much-anticipated operating licences, giving impetus to the long-awaited restructuring of state utility Eskom and the wider electricity supply industry . Nersa also approved government plans to procure 7.8GW of new capacity. The largest element of this is Eskom’s planned 3GW combined-cycle gas turbine plant in Richards Bay.

State utility Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and Indian-owned Jindal Energy Botswana have signed a 30-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to develop a 300MW baseload coal-fired thermal power station at Mmamabula.

Analysis of procurement trends recorded on the African Energy Live Data platform shows that capacity procured through competitive auctions should add at least 15.1GW by 2027, with solar and natural gas adding an estimated 4.4GW and 4.3GW respectively, while wind and hybrid power will also make significant additions to the continent’s generation mix, writes Ajay Ubhi.

The African Development Bank (AfDB)’s $50m package to develop the Dekemhare 30MWp solar PV and 15MW/30MWh battery storage plant, approved in April, was a notable exception to the position of most multilateral and bilateral financiers, who prefer to avoid Eritrean projects.

Some 63MW of Malawi’s 501MW of operational grid capacity is provided by expensive and heavily-emitting diesel plants, according to African Energy Live Data. These units are owned and operated by the parastatal Electricity Generation Company of Malawi (Egenco).

Geregu Power has to date paid NGN8.8bn ($10.8m) to Italian company Ansaldo Energia for repairs to gas turbines at the Geregu gas-fired power plant in Ajaokuta, Kogi state.

Lagos-based developer Elektron Energy Development Strategies and utility Eko Electricity Distribution Company are partnering on the construction of a 30MW natural gas-fired power plant on the commercial capital’s Victoria Island (VI).

While Botswana has talked about shifting into renewable energy it remains wedded to huge coal resources. But international backing to develop an export-focused 300-500MW ‘Mega Solar’ initiative may help to reduce King Coal’s domination – if not, for now, in the domestic market. The first phase of the Africa Energy Transition Catalyst Programme (AETC) Mega Solar initiative is expected to install 300-500MW across Namibia and Botswana, with further capacity to be added after regional transmission lines are in place, writes Tonderayi Mukeredzi in Gaborone.

Toronto Stock Exchange-listed developer NextSource Materials has confirmed that the solar-hybrid-storage development for its Molo graphite project in Madagascar has been completed. Nairobi-headquartered CrossBoundary Energy developed the solar/diesel hybrid plant, which also includes battery energy storage capacity.

Lagos-headquartered multilateral the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has set out its stall as a financier and partner for the continent’s energy transition, with a strategy to support renewable energy and critical minerals projects around the continent, as well as the development of battery manufacturing supply chains. The AFC also plans to continue supporting short- to medium-term energy needs by backing upstream and midstream gas projects and gas-to-power (GTP) developments. Marc Howard spoke to AFC executive director and chief investment officer Sameh Shenouda during the recent Africa Energy Forum in Nairobi.

More than 4GW of hybrid power projects using battery storage are expected to come online by 2025 according to the African Energy Live Data platform. More than half of this will come from projects in South Africa’s Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP).

As Cairo seeks buyers for its prized power generation assets, it may have to accept lower prices than it wants, as investors shift away from gas-fuelled plants in light of climate change concerns. Potential buyers from the Gulf and elsewhere also recognise Egypt is under pressure to sell as a result of the country’s debt crisis. Complicating matters still further is the enmity between key arms of the state which could delay any deals, writes Moataz Khalil with John Hamilton.

Madagascar’s pivot to renewable energy is gathering steam, with hydropower capacity set to triple and on-grid solar to double by the end of the decade. The displacement of expensive and polluting thermal capacity should help to rebalance the economy and expand electricity access rates which are among the world’s lowest, writes Marc Howard.

Despite vigorous opposition from a number of quarters, the South African government’s recently appointed electricity minister – who has been given new powers – still wants to procure 2GW of emergency electricity in a revised contract with Turkish-owned Karpowership. Meanwhile, generation is not the only factor causing difficulties, as the grid reaches its limit in some parts of the country.