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While the economic logic of the subsidy cuts, devaluation and other reforms enacted after Bola Ahmed Tinubu took over on Aso Rock in mid-2023 was clear, the consequences of the president’s reforms have caused immense difficulties for a majority of Nigeria's estimated 226m population. The Tinubu administration has its work cut out to persuade Nigerians that the pain of (still only partially implemented) economic reforms can be replaced by growth and wider prosperity. In the power sector, C&I investments from large private sector players are advancing as are some electrification and off-grid schemes but the industry remains mired in critical liquidity issues. Despite the first significant addition to the Nigerian grid by an independent power producer (IPP) in almost six years – Geometric Power's 141MW Aba gas-to-power (GTP) scheme – many IPPs will be reluctant to invest in additional capacity until the large amounts they are owed are repaid and thorny issues of cost-reflectivity and the technical limitations of a vastly inadequate transmission network look closer to resolution.  

Abdel Hamid Dabaiba’s Government of National Unity has built large amounts of new gas-fired power generation capacity but without the necessary gas or the pipeline infrastructure to guarantee stable supply Libya’s power crisis will remain tied to expensive diesel imports. While Eni’s offshore gas developments might eventually resolve this problem, the failure to establish any substantial renewable power capacity also represents a huge strategic gap.

A sustainable future for the continent is necessarily based on renewable energy and storage solutions as the world heads towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050 but in Africa gas still has a role to play. A global policy framework driven by the dominant economies of the world may not be what African people and economies need as they strive to shift from dependence on coal, heavy fuel oil, diesel and polluting cooking fuels. African Energy follows the debates and the developments.

COP climate conferences have evolved into annual events whose outcomes have major impacts on energy sector financing and development. COP26 in Glasgow brought an end to gas-related finance. Something of an energy industry jamboree at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh partly reversed that trend. Key issues at Abu Dhabi’s COP28 will include resolving whether international financing commitments have been unlocked and whether Just Energy Transition can help the global south to counter climate change while simultaneously promoting development goals.

Momentum for Mozambique's LNG projects has been slowly building following Eni's export of its first LNG cargo from the troubled Cabo Delgado region in 2022.  African Energy continues to follow the development of these key projects and the underlying security situation which caused force majeure to be triggered, following  attacks by jihadist insurgents in March 2021.  

Oslo-headquartered development finance institution Norfund has committed another $40m to the pan-African commercial and industrial power specialist CrossBoundary Energy.

Hydroelectric power (HEP) is the mainstay of electricity supply in Africa accounting for about 40% of the power. While an estimated 1.4MW of new-build capacity was installed in 2023, the rate of development lags behind projections needed to meet an ever-growing demand for energy and to drive economic growth. Climate change is also having an impact. Some countries, such as Zambia, have seen periods of prolonged drought and low HEP output, while others, such as Ghana, have seen such an excess of rainfall that they have had to discharge water, bypassing generating units. African Energy has closely followed HEP projects for over 25 years and uses its depth and breadth of knowledge to provide vital insight into this essential form of renewable generation.  

The decision by the military regimes governing Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to leave the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has new implications for regional stability and the fight against jihadism in the Sahel. The military leaders had all previously promised ‘transition’, to include elections.  But now these juntas, struggling to combat jihadist and separatist insurgencies following their ejection of French and EU forces, have increasingly looked to Moscow and its military ‘advisors’ as to retain their hold on to power. Russian firms, including the Wagner Group – now rebranded as the ‘African Corps’ – have shown interest in the region’s resources and complicated questions over regional energy interdependence remain to be answered.

With over 90% of the country's electricity coming from renewable sources, Kenya is uniquely positioned to attract climate change finance and support the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EV). In the past few years, the country has witnessed a promising rise in the adoption of e-mobility. While a robust renewable energy sector, new government initiatives, and private sector innovation in e-mobility are paving the way for a greener future, new capacity additions are essential to meet rising demand.    

In a major step for the national grid, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) has tendered for 1,800MWh of battery storage.

The issue leads with South Africa. Africa’s most industrialised country has seen its economic growth stymied by years of woefully inadequate power provision. Better late than never, a series of liberalising reforms have started to bear fruit. Most notably, the unbundling of vertically integrated utility Eskom symbolises a ‘big bang’ moment that is expected to attract further investment to South Africa’s booming renewable IPP market. African Energy examines the potential impact of the reforms and reports on progress with the country's battery energy storage independent power producer (Besippp) programme and the seventh bid window of the renewable energy independent power producer procurement (Reippp) programme. African Energy also focuses on Senegal, where progress at offshore oil and gas fields has bolstered Dakar’s case for using hydrocarbons revenue to fund economic development and its goal of using the gas for power generation. But more work is still needed, not least on pipelines to bring the gas onshore so state utility Senelec and IPPs can boost gas-fired capacity. Power coverage includes a look at Tunisia, where a second round of solar PV tenders has been launched and first-round awards, including an unexpected third concessionaire, have been confirmed. As Burkina Faso’s junta struggles to increase electricity investment, African Energy and African Energy Live Data have delved into the history of the country's power procurement. Our analysis examines the projects that have worked and those that have not, to assess the prospects for the ambitious next phase in the country's  renewable energy and electrification programmes, which  will need private developers and financers as well as generous institutional backing. African Energy also examines the impact of drought on generation output from Mozambique's Cahora Bassa hydroelectric power plant – which supplies over 1GW to South Africa and additional output to other Southern African Power Pool (Sapp) countries – and looks at the signing of the Mbale-Bulambuli-Kween high-voltage independent transmission project in Uganda. Oil and gas coverage also includes a focus on South Sudan where the resumption of crude deliveries to Port Sudan via the Petrodar pipeline is an important milestone. Juba should now be able to ramp up oil exports, a vital source of hard currency. However, South Sudan’s dependence on two pipelines that traverse war-torn Sudan remains a point of vulnerability, prompting renewed interest in a possible third pipeline that would run to Lamu Port on Kenya's coast. The African Energy View focuses on Nigeria and the challenges faced by President Bola Tinubu as he promises to end debilitating oil thefts in the Niger Delta.  

Published January 2025, this map provides a detailed view of the power sector in Burkina Faso. The locations of power generation facilities that are operating, under construction or planned are shown by type – including liquid fuels, gas and liquid fuels, thermal, hydroelectricity and solar PV. Generation sites are marked with different sized circles to show sites of 1-9MW, 10-99MW and 100MW and above. Existing and future transmission and distribution lines are shown ranging from 90kV to 330kV. Actual and planned cross-border interconnectors are also shown including lines to Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Niger and Mali. Power generation data was drawn from our African Energy Live Data platform, which contains project level detail on power plants and projects across Africa. The map is presented as a PDF file using eps graphics, meaning that there is no loss of resolution as the file is enlarged.

Undeterred by a dismal track record of unfulfilled investment strategies, stalled projects and the vagaries of an unstable military dictatorship, a coalition of multilateral funders continues to support national utility Sonabel’s renewable energy and electrification programmes. But the ambitious next phase will need private developers and financers as well as generous institutional backing. African Energy and African Energy Live Data have delved into the history of Burkinabe power procurement, examining the projects that have worked and those that have not, to assess whether this time it might be different, writes John Hamilton.

Published January 2025,  African Energy Live Data presents a snapshot of Burkina Faso's grid-connected power generation sector through three charts: Installed capacity trends, 2010-2023 Energy mix pie charts: 2018, 2023, 2028 Snapshot of the project pipeline, 2024-2027. The charts illustrate that on-grid generation capacity has more than tripled since 2013. However, nearly half of what is theoretically operational is simply not available. African Energy has examined the project pipeline for the 2024-2027 period. A major problem is that progress on generation projects is both slow and unpredictable.

Published January 2025, this graphic collects together six small maps showing projects under South Africa's battery energy storage IPP procurement (BESIPPP) programme windows, Eskom battery energy storage projects and the 7th bid window of the renewable energy IPP procurement (REIPPP) programme. A further map shows off-grid and non-grid-contracted solar PV installations made between Dec 2022 and Dec 2024.