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Maamba’s second phase would give one company a fifth of Zambia’s generation

4th September, 2026 · Updated: 2nd September, 2026

Astound Power’s Abubakar Shuaibu on why he left advocacy to build minigrids

Abubakar Shuaibu founded Astound Power after five years campaigning on energy access in Nigeria. His minigrid projects break ground before the year ends, with two state governments holding equity, and one of them built around an agricultural cluster.

Botswana’s EU energy programme buys advisers rather than megawatts

ASPIRE runs from February 2026 to January 2030 on EUR 5.5 million of European Union funding, and none of it builds generation. The three outcomes are institutional capacity and regulatory frameworks, energy efficiency, and renewable access. It arrives a month before Botswana’s first utility-scale solar plant secured $100 million from a commercial bank.

Tech & Power Generation

Eskom coal decommissioning decision on five stations due by end of September

Camden, Grootvlei, Hendrina, Arnot and Kriel hold emissions exemptions to 31 March 2030. Eskom will say by the end of September whether they shut, repower or run on, and chief executive Dan Marokane has said the answer turns on new capacity being contractually secured. The Energy Council of South Africa leads the work on what follows 2030.

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Maamba’s second phase would give one company a fifth of Zambia’s generation

Two 150MW units have been under construction at Sinazongwe since August 2024, financed largely by Zambian pension money and contracted to ZESCO in full. Once running, Maamba Energy would supply around 18% of national generating capacity, with a 100MW solar plant alongside taking the site to 700MW.

Astound Power’s Abubakar Shuaibu on why he left advocacy to build minigrids

Abubakar Shuaibu founded Astound Power after five years campaigning on energy access in Nigeria. His minigrid projects break ground before the year ends, with two state governments holding equity, and one of them built around an agricultural cluster.

Botswana’s EU energy programme buys advisers rather than megawatts

ASPIRE runs from February 2026 to January 2030 on EUR 5.5 million of European Union funding, and none of it builds generation. The three outcomes are institutional capacity and regulatory frameworks, energy efficiency, and renewable access. It arrives a month before Botswana’s first utility-scale solar plant secured $100 million from a commercial bank.

Tech & Power Generation

Eskom coal decommissioning decision on five stations due by end of September

Camden, Grootvlei, Hendrina, Arnot and Kriel hold emissions exemptions to 31 March 2030. Eskom will say by the end of September whether they shut, repower or run on, and chief executive Dan Marokane has said the answer turns on new capacity being contractually secured. The Energy Council of South Africa leads the work on what follows 2030.

Infinity Power signs a 25-year PPA for 1GW of wind in the Gulf of Suez

Ras Shokeir will cover around 143 square kilometres of Egypt’s Red Sea Governorate, and the power purchase agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company runs for twenty-five years. It is the third agreement between EETC and the Infinity Power and Hassan Allam Utilities consortium since November 2025.

Mining & Minerals

Zambia’s copper concentrate export duty returns on 30 September after a year suspended

A 10% duty on copper concentrate exports was suspended in August 2025 and the waiver has been extended to the end of this month. It currently covers 271,742 tonnes across six producers, with Mopani holding the largest quota at 100,000 tonnes. The duty is intended to favour domestic processing.

Uganda electricity distribution rebuilds its network a year after Umeme’s concession ended

Umeme handed 2.3 million customers to the state in March 2025, closing the first private distribution concession in anglophone Africa. Uganda’s regulator has held tariffs flat and approved substation investment across six districts. The compensation figure that sets the utility’s asset base remains contested.

Lagos food processor wins Africa’s clean energy innovation challenge

Blessing Unoka’s Sambal Enterprise runs a solar-powered processing hub with an integrated biodigester, producing five certified food lines with no diesel and no grid connection. It employs 50 women, supplies more than 200 smallholder farmers and took first place at the AfroHackathon in Accra on 25 and 26 August.

Seriti Green passes 1,700 jobs as it builds out its renewables business

More than 1,700 jobs have been created across Seriti Green’s projects, and the company has appointed Jasmin Pillay as Chief People Officer with a remit covering enterprise and social development alongside organisational capability. In Mpumalanga, where livelihoods have run through the coal value chain, who gets the work is the measure that matters.

Zimbabwe distribution licences open to private operators on 25-year terms

Statutory Instrument 128 of 2026 sets the terms on which a company other than ZETDC may sell electricity in Zimbabwe. Licences run twenty-five years, are awarded by competitive bidding, and cap tariffs at the state utility’s approved rates. No private operator has yet been named as an applicant.

Zimbabwe-Zambia Energy Projects Summit 3 – 5 November 2026

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All the latest articles

Maamba’s second phase would give one company a fifth of Zambia’s generation

Two 150MW units have been under construction at Sinazongwe since August 2024, financed largely by Zambian pension money and contracted to ZESCO in full. Once running, Maamba Energy would supply around 18% of national generating capacity, with a 100MW solar plant alongside taking the site to 700MW.

Astound Power’s Abubakar Shuaibu on why he left advocacy to build minigrids

Abubakar Shuaibu founded Astound Power after five years campaigning on energy access in Nigeria. His minigrid projects break ground before the year ends, with two state governments holding equity, and one of them built around an agricultural cluster.

Botswana’s EU energy programme buys advisers rather than megawatts

ASPIRE runs from February 2026 to January 2030 on EUR 5.5 million of European Union funding, and none of it builds generation. The three outcomes are institutional capacity and regulatory frameworks, energy efficiency, and renewable access. It arrives a month before Botswana’s first utility-scale solar plant secured $100 million from a commercial bank.

Tech & Power Generation

Eskom coal decommissioning decision on five stations due by end of September

Camden, Grootvlei, Hendrina, Arnot and Kriel hold emissions exemptions to 31 March 2030. Eskom will say by the end of September whether they shut, repower or run on, and chief executive Dan Marokane has said the answer turns on new capacity being contractually secured. The Energy Council of South Africa leads the work on what follows 2030.

Infinity Power signs a 25-year PPA for 1GW of wind in the Gulf of Suez

Ras Shokeir will cover around 143 square kilometres of Egypt’s Red Sea Governorate, and the power purchase agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company runs for twenty-five years. It is the third agreement between EETC and the Infinity Power and Hassan Allam Utilities consortium since November 2025.

Mining & Minerals

Zambia’s copper concentrate export duty returns on 30 September after a year suspended

A 10% duty on copper concentrate exports was suspended in August 2025 and the waiver has been extended to the end of this month. It currently covers 271,742 tonnes across six producers, with Mopani holding the largest quota at 100,000 tonnes. The duty is intended to favour domestic processing.

Uganda electricity distribution rebuilds its network a year after Umeme’s concession ended

Umeme handed 2.3 million customers to the state in March 2025, closing the first private distribution concession in anglophone Africa. Uganda’s regulator has held tariffs flat and approved substation investment across six districts. The compensation figure that sets the utility’s asset base remains contested.

Lagos food processor wins Africa’s clean energy innovation challenge

Blessing Unoka’s Sambal Enterprise runs a solar-powered processing hub with an integrated biodigester, producing five certified food lines with no diesel and no grid connection. It employs 50 women, supplies more than 200 smallholder farmers and took first place at the AfroHackathon in Accra on 25 and 26 August.

Zimbabwe-Zambia Energy Projects Summit 3 – 5 November 2026

Nigeria NOW! 19 – 20 November 2026

Play daily puzzles on ENN 1 January – 31 December 2026