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Construction will start at the 25MWp Bangui Solar PV plant, which includes 25MWh of battery storage, in April, and commercial operations are expected in June 2022, the World Bank Group (WBG)’s Boris Ngouagouni told African Energy. Ngouagouni said Covid-19 had not significantly delayed the project. The WBG signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with China’s Shanxi Construction Investment Group Company in December.

Construction will begin this month at the 25MWp Bangui solar PV plant, which includes a 25MWh battery system, in the Central African Republic

Mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe on 18 March announced eight preferred bidders for the Risk Mitigation IPP (RMIPP) Procurement Programme, which aims to procure 2GW of power to bridge a looming supply gap. The eight bidders, representing a total of 1,845MW, are: Acwa Power Project DAO, Karpowership SA Coega, Karpowership SA Richards Bay, Karpowership SA Saldanha, Mulilo Total Coega, Mulilo Total Hydra Storage, Oya Energy Hybrid Facility and Umoyilanga Energy.

Mauritius-based Janus Continental Group (JCG) has invested $13m in UK-headquartered Highview Power to bring the latter’s energy storage technology to Africa. It is part of a wider $70m investment into Highview which also included commitments from Sumitomo Heavy Industries and TSK, Highview chief executive Javier Cavada told African Energy in an 18 February interview.

Botswana has released its 2020 integrated resource plan (IRP), which provides policy scenarios for the generation mix until 2040, approving procurement of 795MW of new capacity at the same time. This includes 135MW of solar PV to come online next year, and 10MW-100MW of coalbed methane generation (CBM) by 2025. Procurement is well under way for both technologies, with five bidders submitting proposals for two 50MW plants in December and Tlou Energy and Sekaname both negotiating CBM projects with the government.

Australia’s Syrah Resources Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SolarCentury Africa Ltd to develop an 11.2MW solar PV and 8.5MW battery system to operate alongside an existing 15MW diesel plant at Syrah’s Balama graphite mine. Syrah said it had carried out technical design and pricing analyses with SolarCentury in 2020. The MoU sets the terms for further development, with the aim of installing the plant on a build, own, operate and transfer basis.

Dutch development bank FMO has agreed a €500,000 ($598,000) convertible loan with power company ZIZ Energie to fund its operations in Chad. FMO joins investment company Energy Access Ventures (EAV) in backing ZIZ in a €2m funding round. EAV announced it was investing in the company earlier this year.

South Africa’s Blue Nova Energy has exported its first intelligent energy storage system (iESS) to Namibia, providing 1MWh of storage for the Timbila Nature Reserve’s 250kW solar PV system. The iESS is a storage system of up to 500kW/1.5MWh housed within a six-metre container, or up to 1MW/3MWh in a 12-metre container.

With demand falling due to Covid-19 and an election scheduled for 22 November, IPPs in Burkina Faso have been working hard to ensure their projects are at the front of the queue. Solar PV has been a major beneficiary, with a spate of groundbreaking ceremonies in the run up to polling day, writes Dan Marks.

Online solar cell leasing platform Sun Exchange has launched its first project outside South Africa, and its first project to use battery storage, at fresh produce exporter Nhimbe Fresh’s farm in Zimbabwe. The $5.3m project will also be the first with a US dollar-pegged, fixed lease price, which Sun Exchange is hoping will help expand its user base internationally. The project is its largest to date and the company raised $4m in a Series A funding round led by a $3m investment from ARCH Emerging Market Partners this year.

Climate Fund Managers (CFM) has announced a joint development agreement with local developer Energy Resources Senegal (ERS) to develop a 30MW solar PV plant and 15MW/45MWh battery storage system at Niakhar. Tendering for an engineering, procurement and construction contractor was launched in mid-November, CFM’s regional head Africa Sebastian Surie told African Energy.

Local developer OnePower has embarked on an ambitious plan to roll out nine solar PV mini-grids in Lesotho’s rural areas, including Thaba-Tseka, Mohale’s Hoek, Qacha’s Nek, Mokhotlong and Quthing. The company is already developing Lesotho’s first utility-scale solar PV plant, a 20MW PV plant in Mafeteng (AE 394/11, 358/13).

Société Nigérienne d’Electricité (Nigelec) has contracted a consortium of India’s Sterling andWilson,France’sVergnet and SNS Niger to construct a solar PV battery storage and diesel genset-based hybrid power plant in the central city of Agadez.

Société Nationale d’Electricité du Burkina (Sonabel) invites bids by 20 November for the design, supply and installation of a 10MW/8MWh lithium-ion battery energy storage system at the Ouagadougou Nord-Ouest solar PV project site. The contracted works are expected to be completed within 12 months of contract signing and include 12 months of technical assistance.

The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) announced on 28 September that it has awarded a $996,155 grant to renewable energy developer Lekela and national utility Senelec to carry out a ten-month study for a utility-scale battery plant. The facility will help Senelec manage the impact of Lekela’s 158.7MW Taïba N’Diaye wind power project, which is partially online, with full commissioning delayed due to Covid-19.