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Sustainable Energy

Kenya geothermal capacity heads for 1,824MW as Menengai completes its first phase

Three 35MW plants at the field north of Nakuru will together bring 105MW to the national grid, financed by the African Development Bank alongside the IFC. Kenya intends to almost double its installed steam generation by 2030, under Pillar I of its Mission 300 energy compact.
Tech & Power Generation

South Africa dispatchable solar starts flowing as Hydra pairs 216MW with a 500MWh battery

The Northen Cape facility near De Ar entered operation this month under the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, contracted to deliver 75MW between 5am and 9.30pm daily. TotalEnergies and Reatile Renewables hold the equity, with more than 400GWh a year committed to Eskom over 20 years.
Finance

Southern African power trading opens up as Zambia brings traders onto ZESCO’s network

The 2024 Electricity (Open Access) Regulations let private intermediaries sell directly to customers for a wheeling fee, and roughly a quarter of trades on the regional exchange are no longer long-term bilateral contracts. Stanbic is preparing a procurement programme that aggregates demand across several mining offtakers.
Finance

African Atlantic Gas Pipeline opens financing talks with US EXIM and the World Bank

Morocco’s ambassador to Washington confirmed the discussions to Bloomberg on 25 July, six days after ECOWAS heads of state signed the intergovernmental agreement in Freetown. Construction on the 6,800km route is expected to begin in 2028, with first deliveries targeted for 2031. The estimated cost is $26 billion.
Mining & Minerals

Sierra Leone critical minerals strategy sets the terms for processing at home

Freetown launched a five-year plan in May covering lithium, graphite, cobalt and rare earths, as mineral exports climbed to $1.3 billion. Julius Daniel Mattai, who chairs the African Diamond Producers Association this year, wants African governments negotiating as a bloc rather than one at a time.
Sustainable Energy

Nigeria industrial solar reaches 200MW as a steel plant breaks ground in Niger State

Niger State has broken ground on 200MW for a steel complex, SEN’EAU has inaugurated 21MW in Senegal, and distributed systems now make up 44 per cent of new African capacity.
News

Nigeria power sector privatisation moves into its monitoring phase

he National Council on Privatisation has approved performance agreements covering Afam Power and Afam III Fast Power, six years after the assets were sold. The Bureau of Public Enterprises can now hold the buyer to the operating targets it committed to, and the transmission company has been separated into two entities.
Hydropower

Zimbabwe power generation set to add 1,365MW by December

ZESA puts private construction in progress at 635MW, with a further 730MW closing its financing. The utility is targeting an end to imports and load shedding by the close of next year, on a system where dependable capacity has run below peak demand.