Africa

  • Kenya Moves Forward with Plans for Country’s First Nuclear Power Plant

    Officials with Kenya’s Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) said the country is on track to start construction on its first nuclear power plant by 2027. The group at a parliamentary hearing this month said the facility would begin generating power by 2034. Kenya’s move is the latest by an African nation as more countries […]

  • New Command Center Supporting African Power Grid Will Use GE Vernova Software

    An initiative aimed at connecting more of Africa’s population to the continent’s power grids will use GE Vernova’s GridOS orchestration software. A newly completed Information and Coordination Centre (ICC) in Abomey-Calavi, Benin, designed for the West African Power Pool (WAPP), is considered “a groundbreaking initiative aimed at transforming the region’s energy landscape,” according to an […]

  • South Africa Announces Bold Shift to Renewables and Nuclear

    Emerging from a historic election that stripped the African National Congress (ANC) party of its majority, South Africa’s new government has indicated it will accelerate the transition to renewable power to

  • It’s Time for the U.S. to Get Smart on Critical Minerals to Advance Clean Energy Goals

    As governments adapt to ongoing clean energy goals, such as the Paris Agreement, green technologies have become more important than ever. The U.S. government has confirmed such goals, striving to implement 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. We are further seeing demand for critical minerals for these green technologies grow, as copper, zinc, […]

  • Group Says Record 117 GW of New Wind Power Generation Installed in 2023

    A report from a leading wind power trade association said a record 117 GW of new wind energy generation capacity was installed worldwide last year, a 50% increase from the prior year. The “Global Wind Report 2024,” published April 16 by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), said “the world is moving in the right […]

  • POWER Digest [January 2024]

    Azerbaijan’s First Utility-Scale Solar Project Online. Officials in Azerbaijan in November announced the country’s first and largest utility-scale solar photovoltaic power plant is now operating. The

  • Hydro, Gas Projects Aim to Bolster Cameroon’s Electricity Supply

    A new hydroelectric dam in Cameroon is expected to begin producing power by the end of this year, with commercial operation beginning in 2024, according to an official with the African Development Bank (AfDB). Rokhaya Diop Diallo, who leads the project for AfDB, recently said work on the Nachtigal hydropower station is more than 80% […]

  • POWER Digest [April 2023]

    New Natural Gas–Fired Plant Approved for Philippines. San Miguel Consolidated Power Corp. (SMCPC), a wholly owned subsidiary of SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., said it received environmental approval to

  • Solar Power/Hydrogen Project Underway in DRC

    Hydrogène de France (HDF Energy) has entered into a partnership with the government of Kinshasa, a city-province and capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Africa, for construction and operation

  • Madagascar Ready to Ramp Up Hydropower Projects

    Madagascar has significant hydropower potential, but to date less than 20% of the country’s energy comes from hydroelectric facilities. The Economic Development Agency of Madagascar (EDBM) estimates the island nation, located in the Indian Ocean off the cost of Southeast Africa, could produce as much as 7.8 GW of power from hydro resources, but at […]

  • Energy Trilemma: A Case for Africa Power Utilities

    A trilemma is a situation that presents three possible choices to a complex challenge. Due to mutual exclusivity of the available choices, achieving them simultaneously is always a daunting task. The overarching objective is to achieve the three possible solutions in a balanced manner. Energy trilemma refers to the need to find a balance between […]

  • World Bank Group Financing West Africa Power Project

    An agency associated with the World Bank will finance installation of solar and hydropower systems, and support related transmission and distribution infrastructure, to provide more electricity to areas of West Africa. The World Bank Group’s International Development Association (IDA) is investing $311 million into the Regional Emergency Solar Power Intervention Project (RESPITE), an initiative designed […]

  • Mini-Grids Powering Energy Access in Africa

    Governments and power generators continue to work to improve access to electricity on the African continent. Engie Energy Access, a subsidiary of French energy major Engie, recently signed a $60 million

  • India Investing Millions for Microgrids

    A Colorado company that serves rural communities with solar power-based microgrids announced an investment that would provide more than 100 installations across two states in India. Husk Power Systems on Feb. 17 said it had closed $4.2 million in debt financing from the India Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) to build as many as 140 […]

  • Ethiopia Produces First Power at GERD Mega-Dam

    Ethiopia began delivering power from a 375-MW turbine at its flagship 5.15-GW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Feb. 20, marking a significant milestone for the project that could become Africa’s largest hydropower producer. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed inaugurated the project in a celebration broadcast widely in the East African nation on Sunday. Officials […]

  • Green Hydrogen Economy: Magic Bullet or Mirage for Africa?

    Africa has approximately 600 million people without access to clean, reliable, and affordable electric power (80% of the global total). On the flip side, the continent has some of the fastest growing economies in the world. Countries like Egypt and Ethiopia have recorded more than 6% annual growth in gross domestic product (GDP) with the […]

  • POWER Digest [November 2021]

    Siemens’ Turbine Set for New Greece Gas-Fired Plant. Siemens Energy in September announced it will supply its HL-class gas turbine technology to Greece for the first time, at a new combined cycle power plant

  • MAN Energy Solutions installs over 225 MW of generation capacity in West Africa

    Four power-plant solutions ensure reliable energy supply in Mali, Senegal, Gambia and Guinea MAN Energy Solutions has announced that it is to supply the power-generation technology for two new power plants in Mali and Senegal, while it has also completed two further plants in The Gambia and Guinea. Malian generation capacity to grow 25% The […]

  • Groundswell of Support Heats Geothermal Innovation

    There’s new interest in one of the world’s oldest resources, as governments and investors worldwide look for advanced ways to tap geothermal energy. Geothermal wells have been producing energy for more

  • POWER Digest [March 2021]

    Hydropower Plant Comes Online in Turkey. GE Renewable Energy in February said the company has successfully completed the Lower Kaleköy Hydropower plant at the Lower Kaleköy Dam in Turkey, with the plant

  • Mini-Grids Making Electricity More Accessible

    Mini-grids—smaller off-grid electricity distribution networks—are being recognized as a cost-effective solution to bring power to rural communities that often have no access to a traditional power grid

  • Gas-to-Power Emerging as Central to Africa’s Economic, Industrial Future

    The energy industry in Africa is staging a comeback after the pandemic’s significant economic impact over 2020. In 2021 and beyond, according to the Africa Energy Chamber (AEC), the revival will focus heavily on gas for power. While much progress has been achieved in the region’s vast and diverse power space, Africa’s power sector continues […]

  • The 470-MW Floating Powership That Buoyed Ghana

    Karpowership’s 470-MW floating power plant deployed at two locations in Ghana demonstrated how robust an impact the innovative “plug-and-play” electricity delivery model can have on a power-hungry country’s economy and society.

  • [VIDEO] POWER Insights—Bringing Electricity to Underserved Areas

    More than half of the population of Africa, or about 640 million people out of about 1.2 billion, does not have access to energy. It’s the lowest access rate for electricity worldwide. Bringing power to those people is important work, being led by people such as Damien Simon,  marketing and strategy director for Paris, France-based […]

  • Egypt Warns Ethiopian Mega-Dam May Provoke Conflict, Crises

    Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan may be poised to end a decade-long dispute over waters from the River Nile, agreeing on June 27 to conclude trilateral negotiations and reach final agreement about the first filling and annual operation of the massive 6.4-GW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) within the next two weeks. The agreement announced on […]

  • Russia, China Drive Africa’s Plan for Nuclear Expansion

    Officials in South Africa and across the African continent continue to explore new nuclear power generation projects, and the region provides an opportunity for other countries to export their advanced nuclear

  • Algeria Targets Renewables to Diversify Generation

    Algeria, like other countries that are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), wants to diversify its electricity production, and is looking to solar power for the bulk of its

  • Access Versus Productive Use of Energy: Is It Time to Craft SDG 7.4 for Africa?

    In 2012, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were drafted at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, which was held in Brazil. The goals were adopted by all the United Nations member countries in 2015. They replaced the Millennium Development Goals, which started in 2000 to tackle the challenge of extreme poverty across the world. […]

  • 10 Power Sector Insights from the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2019

    The International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) November 2019–released World Energy Outlook 2019 (WEO2019) is studded with interesting findings about emerging trends in the power sector. Here are 10 from the

  • Restructuring Report: Eskom ‘Fundamentally Insolvent, Permanently Impaired’

    Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned utility that produces nearly 90% of the African powerhouse’s electricity, is saddled with liabilities, unavoidable expenses, and stranded costs that exceed $113 billion, and for various reasons, it is “fundamentally insolvent, permanently impaired, and will never be a true going concern enterprise under its current legal, operational, and governance structure,” concludes […]