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The World Bank Group has approved a $202m finance facility to help address grid constraints and enable regional interconnections – opening the way for a doubling of hydropower imports from Ethiopia – under the second phase of its ten-year green energy programme for Kenya.

Commercial operations for the $127m Mozambique-Malawi (Moma) transmission interconnection project has been delayed, a source with knowledge of the project told African Energy. The delay to the Moma link into the Southern Africa Power Pool comes after a previous hold-up from demining complications, while other milestones remain to be met for the long-awaited regional interconnection scheme.

The United Kingdom is guaranteeing an African Development Bank loan whose funds will be used to further improve Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco)’s network and increase the deployment of renewable energy.

Solarcentury Africa plans to sell output domestically from its second merchant plant in Namibia, but the 60MWp SolNam solar PV project also supports SCA’s goal of becoming a leading trader in the Southern African Power Pool (Sapp) market.

Electricity trading platform Etana Energy will supply 195GWh of renewable energy to real estate investor Growthpoint’s retail, office and industrial sites around South Africa.

South African state electricity utility Eskom has said a 10% curtailment exercise will unlock almost 3.5GW of transmission capacity for wind power generation in Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces.

South Africa-headquartered Sustainable Power Solutions, Namibian property developer Fortitude and the Oelofse family are collaborating to develop a solar PV plant at Maxwell farm to supply electricity to B2Gold’s Otjikoto mine via a wheeling deal with NamPower.

The latest version of the South African government’s Integrated Resource Plan, issued in early January and now open for public feedback, advocates the longer-term use of coal-fired power plants and reduces renewables’ role in the overall energy mix, prompting a strong reaction from industry observers, as critics claim it will set back the energy transition, writes Tonderayi Mukeredzi.

Efforts to upgrade regional power pools are critical if the CMP is to achieve its vision of a fully interconnected African power grid, as discussed in the latest African Energy view. Among signs of progress, the launch of a southern African Regional Transmission Infrastructure Financing Fund is expected soon, the West Africa Power Pool is testing a day-ahead market and the Eastern Africa Power Pool aims for its market to go live by mid-2024.

The African School of Regulation (ASR) is expected to soon appoint a permanent director to succeed interim director Ignacio Pérez-Arriaga, who was appointed in July 2022. Officially launched in September 2023, with its headquarters at the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) in Accra, ASR has in fact been running seminars and conferences with regulators across the continent for more than 12 months.

African electricity markets are on the threshold of genuine reform in 2024, even if policy-makers’ grandest ambitions are destined to meet with disappointment. African Energy has examined the first data that has emerged from the third development phase of the African Union’s Continental Master Plan and found much to applaud.

A tender has been issued by Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) for the 55km Mariakani-Dongo Kudu line and three associated projects. Ketraco has also requested expressions of interest (EoI) for consultancy services for the Kenya Transmission Network Improvement Project.

London AIM-listed Chariot and the local H1 Holdings have bought out their erstwhile partner Neura Group to take full ownership of South African electricity trading company Etana Energy, at a price of up to $5.2m.

National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s approval of an electricity trading licence for the ambitious Anglo-American/EDF joint venture Envusa Energy highlights the growing role of traders in the electricity supply market.

Mining and metals group Sibanye-Stillwater has reached financial close on two renewable energy projects that will provide power to its operations via a wheeling agreement with state-owned utility Eskom.