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Goma-based renewable energy developer Nuru closed a funding round in early July, the proceeds of which will be used to start construction work on three solar hybrid metro-grids in Goma, Kindu, and Bunia.
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.
The Cabo Verde Ministry Of Industry, Commerce And Energy has begun a search for developers for battery energy storage systems (Bess) on the islands of São Vicente and Boa Vista.
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).
Mogadishu-headquartered Blue Sky Energy’s solar PV/diesel hybrid plant in the Dayniile district has reached a timely new milestone, with demand for power increasingly rapidly in the city. As well as being an IPP, Blue Sky acts as a distribution company and has its own transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure network. The company’s chief technical officer Abdullahi Abdi took African Energy through its plans.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has approved plans by utility Eskom to procure 344.5MW of capacity from new solar PV and battery energy storage plants.
Tanzanian energy company Taifa Group has formed a joint venture with Mauritius-based General Capital Ltd (GCL) to build Zanzibar’s first utility-scale solar PV plant.
South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has outlined plans to procure nearly 17GW of generation capacity from different technologies in FY2023/24, in new efforts aimed at increasing electricity supply and tackling crippling shortages.
Cape Town-based independent power producer Red Rocket Energy is further building up its project portfolio with plans to build two 150MW solar PV and battery energy storage facilities close to Eskom’s Tutuka coal-fired power station. African Energy spoke to Red Rocket’s head of development Sharief Harris.
Cape Town has announced plans to procure 560MW of renewable energy, as the Democratic Party-run city continues with its efforts to cut its dependence on an unreliable national grid and provide cover from the impact of load-shedding by national utility Eskom. City authorities have also announced plans to build a 60MW solar PV and battery plant outside Somerset West, with support from the C40 Cities Finance Facility (CFF).
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $50m grant for Eritrea's Dekemhare 30MWp solar PV and 15MW/30MWh battery storage plant.
Lusaka-based Africa GreenCo has been awarded a US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) grant for a feasibility study to expand its battery energy storage capacity throughout Zambia to 400MWh.
US-headquartered Astra Energy has secured a 200-acre site on Unguja Island for a renewable energy (RE) project comprising 42.5MWp of solar PV and 7.5MW of waste-to-energy (WTE) capacity. An unspecified amount of battery capacity is also planned for the project – which is one of several initiatives to improve electricity access on the Zanzibar archipelago.
The phase three expansion of Amea Power’s Blitta solar PV and battery energy storage plant in Togo was formally launched by President Faure Gnassingbé on 22 March. Blitta – officially named the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Solar Power Plant – was Amea’s first African project to be commissioned, in June 2021
Goma-based renewables developer Nuru has raised $1.5m from Nairobi-headquartered investor E3 Capital, the United Kingdom’s Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) and Agence Française de Développement subsidiary Proparco.
