Lisa Pinsley

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the Alliance for Renewable Electrification signed a memorandum of understanding in Brussels on Thursday, covering electrification, investment and energy access across a bloc of 21 countries and an industry body representing more than 170 renewable energy companies.

Households, farms and factories with grid-tied solar now feed 118MW into Zimbabwe's network under net metering, according to ZESA's acting chief executive. Participants export up to 5MW each and are paid in credits rather than cash, with ZETDC deferring connection fees until March 2027 to draw more of them in.

The US Trade and Development Agency signed an agreement with Anzana Electric Group in New York on Tuesday to fund a feasibility study for hydropower and distribution in Lualaba in the DRC and North-Western Zambia, covering the mines that feed the Lobito Corridor and more than three million residents.

Zambia wants to triple copper output to three million tonnes a year, on a grid that does not yet carry it. Speaking to ENN, Munyaradzi Munodawafa, Chief Executive of the Zambezi River Authority, sets out what mining demand is doing to power investment across the region and where Batoka Gorge fits.

Kenya's grid carried a record 2,549MW on 15 July, and KenGen, which supplied 57.2% of the country's electricity in the year to June, reporting revenue of Ksh59.7 billion. The generator is putting its cash into new capacity towards the roughly 5,540MW of renewables it aims to add by 2034.

United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) call for proposals on sustainable cooling in Brazil, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco and Tunisia is open until 31 October. Grants from $200,000 to $1 million are available with 20% co-financing. The programme forms part of the drive to turn commitments made under the Global Cooling Pledge into practical action, a priority reinforced at the recent Global Cooling Pledge Assembly 2026 in Singapore

Petrobras has signed eight production-sharing contracts with the government of Ivory Coast to secure dominant positions across the offshore equatorial margin. The multi-basin entry marks an aggressive pivot by the Brazilian state major to anchor its international exploration expansion along the West African coast.

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and Africa50 have completed the commercial launch of the $300 million Nigeria Distributed Renewable Energy Fund at the United Nations General Assembly. Backed by the World Bank Group as a founding partner, the vehicle deploys equity into domestic developers to scale mini-grids and commercial solar infrastructure.