Search results

IFC and the Italian Climate Fund are investing in Eni’s project to increase biofuel feedstock production and processing in Kenya.

The African Development Bank is seeking a consultant to carry out a feasibility study for a floating solar power project on the Kariba dam, a major source of water and electricity for Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Angolan state utility Prodel has announced that the Luachimo hydroelectric plant’s rehab is complete and its capacity has been quadrupled. The project is part of the government’s 2023-27 plan to diversify its energy mix by incorporating about 72% of renewable energy and achieving a 50% electrification rate.

Cape Town-based NOA Group has concluded the purchase of the 350MW Khauta solar PV cluster in Free State province from Germany’s Pure New Energy. Chief executive Karel Cornelissen provided African Energy with details of NOA’s plans for the Khauta projects and beyond.

Benin’s President Patrice Talon has allowed the temporary lifting of the inaugural cargo from the Niger-Benin Export Pipeline, after his 8 May bombshell announcement that Cotonou would not allow exports until Niamey reopened its side of the border, write Virgile Ahissou in Cotonou and Marc Howard.

Ener-G-Africa has officially launched a biomass stove and cookware factory in Paarl, near Cape Town, giving impetus to efforts to promote green cooking in Africa.

Two units of the 2.1GW Nyerere hydroelectric megaproject are already online – adding 470MW to the Tanzanian grid – and a source has told African Energy details of the remaining seven turbines to follow. Already, the megaproject is generating surplus capacity to such an extent that state utility Tanesco is reducing output at other HEP plants while it waits for demand to pick up.

Dubai-based Amea Power has broken ground on its Kairouan solar project. The 120MW plant, which is being developed under a build-own-operate (BOO) model, is one of the few projects to make progress in Tunisia’s troubled renewable energy programme.

President Patrice Talon’s sudden announcement that Benin would block the lifting of oil cargoes from the Niger-Benin Export Pipeline was a shock move that may be remedied swiftly but nevertheless point to continuing pressures on Niamey, since the military regime opted to end alliances with the US and France in favour of Russia and special friend China, write Marc Howard and Virgile Ahissou

Revised May 2024, this graphic combines maps providing a detailed view of energy infrastructure across Niger, complemented by charts showing key economic data. The top part of the graphic consists of a map showing the locations of power generation facilities that are operating, under construction or planned. Generation sites are shown by type – including liquid fuels, coal, hybrid, hydroelectricity, solar (PV) and wind. A second map shows open, free/unassigned and licensed oil and gas acreage, with a third map providing a more detailed look at the oil fields and prospects/leads in the Agadem Rift Basin.

A major source of natural gas for South Africa could be constrained as soon as 2025, with declining reserves at Mozambique’s Pande and Temane fields potentially leading to supply shortages. South Africa will need to secure new sources of feedstock if it is to develop the gas-to-power projects that many see as essential to provide baseload for the renewable energy sector that African Energy Live Data shows is gaining momentum.

Ahead of his expected late June re-election, President Mohammed Ahmed El Ghazouani is presiding over a potentially fast-changing Mauritania that can expect new revenues from its joint GTA gas field with Senegal and potentially more long-term investment plays that exploit its minerals reserves, P2X potential and route to the sea, write Marc Howard, Waly Dione Faye and Jon Marks.

President Mohammed Ould Cheikh Mohammed Ahmed El Ghazouani’s meeting with Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune on 22 February, at the airport in Tindouf, south-western Algeria, was replete with symbolism. Not only did the leaders formally inaugurate fixed border posts on the 460km bilateral frontier, a roster of projects were announced that signal of a wider intensification of relations. Some of these schemes could help Algeria to outflank its bitter regional rival Morocco by increasing its business further south.

The issue leads with Mauritania, where, ahead of his expected late June re-election, President Mohammed Ahmed El Ghazouani is presiding over a potentially fast-changing country that can expect new revenues from its joint Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas field with Senegal and potentially more long-term investment plays that exploit its minerals reserves, P2X potential and route to the sea. There is also a focus on Senegal, where new President Bassirou Diomaye Faye pointedly opted for Nouakchott as the destination for his first official foreign trip, underlining his Pastef party’s pan-African agenda. Discussions between the two presidents centred around the potential for renegotiating the GTA development’s terms. African Energy also examines Senegal's power generation sector. President Faye has vowed to boost on-grid renewable energy capacity and phase out the use of expensive liquid fuels for power generation. Analysis from African Energy Live Data shows this is a continuation of a trend set by his predecessor Macky Sall. However, the phasing out of HFO also relies on the country tapping into its substantial gas reserves and Faye’s pledge to renegotiate hydrocarbons contracts makes some nervous. Power coverage also includes a closer look at Guinea, where approval from the interim parliament in Conakry for an LNG import terminal and gas-to-power plant could be the first step towards meeting a predicted huge mining-driven increase in electricity demand. Upstream oil and gas coverage leads with Nigeria, where there are signs of progress on two multi-billion dollar asset sales to local players by international majors. Hydrocarbons coverage also includes a focus on Niger, following the sudden announcement that Benin would block the lifting of oil cargoes from the Niger-Benin Export Pipeline. The African Energy View examines how gas supply risks highlight the baseload challenge for energy transition strategies across the continent.

The World Bank has approved its first energy project loan for Namibia, to be deployed to finance grid expansion and support increased integration of renewable energy into an electricity system that still serves only about half of the population and is heavily dependent on imports.